Chronicles of the Fall:Spelunking For Common Sense
by midori Haru
Summary: The adventure continues...into the other side of the well. After all, there's no way Sesshoumaru would ever let a female get away from him despite having to face all the mysteries and dangers of a world unknown!
1. Brought to You by the Letter S

Hurray, it's WEdnesday again! Unfortunately I have to work, but that doesn't matter because I'm a responsible adult and know how to plan ahead! heheh, even if I do like to claim I'm a six year old from time to time.

This part of the fic introduces a lot of new characters, some of which you've heard of briefly in passing and many you haven't. This is not a bad thing. Also some of these seemingly "new characters" aren't. What do I mean? Well to tell you would take away some of the fun. Lets just say, you should keep in mind that Rumiko Takahashi never did establish how long youkai can live and neither have I and that's all I'm going to say about it! I really won't be explaining things clearly until far, far into the future because I am evil about random things. (sorry, apparently sharing an apartment with the epitome of all that is evil rubbed off. Luckily I am _the _incarnation of randomness, so it's difficult to tell when this will surface.)

Another thing about this part of the story, I decided to throw Sesshoumaru into the 21st century and see if he would sink or swim. Inuyasha takes everything in stride, but I believe this is because he always has a purpose and Kagome, despite her protests, encourages him to see most things in a positive light. Sesshoumaru is an entirely different person altogether. He's used to _knowing_ his environment and being completely certain in his ability to overcome the dangers of it. Not so on this side of the well. His behavior may seem a bit strange, but think about it, how does a fish act out of water in comparison to being in its natural environment?

Oh, and we get to meet Loki. He was mentioned way back in the last chapter of part 1. He doesn't like Sesshoumaru and Sesshoumaru doesn't like him, but I won't tell you why. You'll have to read to find out!

**Brought to You By the Letter 'S'**

The tinny sound of a telephone ringing echoed through the two-bedroom American style apartment. The place hardly looked lived in; though there were tons of take out boxes strewn about the floor beside the computer. The man who stirred to answer the phone didn't exactly fit the somewhat feminine furnishings. He ran his hand through his extravagantly colored hair idly as he waited for sound from the other end of the phone connection.

His hair was about all that could have given away his youkai heritage if this day and age wasn't so full of color changing cosmetics. It helped that they were really popular to, so he looked almost normal with his dark hair splashed with white blonde. It likewise helped that his youkai blood was terribly diluted.

"Hey Loki," the tired voice of his semi-employer crawled out of the phone and into his ear. "I'm back. I've got a few errands to run before I'll be at the apartment."

"Geez, boss, you sound more tired than you did the last time you came back," the now identified Loki cried into the phone.

There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the line. "Yeah well, a lot has happened in the last month, and you know these bracelets take a lot out of me," she responded.

"You are going to have to tell me this story," Loki demanded with an expectant grin. The strangest things always seemed to happen to her.

"Don't worry, you will hear the full report later, but I can give you a very condensed summary if you'd like." Her tired voice took on a note of mild amusement.

"Sounds good to me, summarize away!"

"Well, essentially you could say I was betrothed, married and divorced within the last month in an extraordinarily twisted feudal sort of way."

"I didn't know they had divorce back in feudal Japan," Loki stared confusedly into the phone.

"I told you it was twisted and completely without my express permission, all of it," Aki managed to scrape up the energy required to fume a bit.

"I have got to meet this wonderfully lucky then incredibly unlucky male that got through to the hardest matchmaking case Kaoru has ever had," he chuckled.

"If I remember correctly, she tried to set us up once. If I'm bad, you're equally as terrible."

"It's not my fault she can't accept that I'd rather sleep with her than you, Aki," Loki sighed. "She doesn't give herself enough credit."

"Yeah well, you're the one who told me most partial demons have personal issues," Aki reminded him from the other end with a chuckle.

"I know, I know," Loki sighed and let his hand run through his hair. "Anyway, enough of my would be love life. I found some more stuff for you to look at."

"Great, I've got a few things to discuss with you and the twins," Aki sighed on her end of the phone.

"Why don't we go out tonight boss? I'll buy you a nice dinner. You sound like you could use a night of fun."

"All right then, see you in a few hours," a click and dial tone signaled the end of the conversation.

Loki sighed and placed the receiver back in its cradle. He looked around the quiet barely lived in apartment. This was Aki's apartment, yet he spent more time in it than she did. All the research she paid him for he did on her computer.

It was amazing how much had happened since he'd met her all those months ago. Loki still couldn't believe she hadn't called the cops on him. He smiled ruefully, what a first impression. She had known from the start that he was no angel.

He chuckled warmly as the memory of his own surprise swept over him. There's nothing quite like finding the individual whose apartment you're breaking into standing directly behind you.

He hadn't heard her come up the stairs. Hadn't seen her come down the short hallway. In short, he hadn't even realized she was there until he heard her clear her throat and speak.

And what did this homeowner say? Aki had quietly asked why he hadn't tried to check if there was a key under the mat. Let's just say the word embarrassed could not cover the emotion that ran through him at that moment. She had then ushered him inside and begun one of the strangest relationships he'd ever heard of.

That is not to say they were lovers, though there were many who believed otherwise. Nor were they merely employee and employer, he was too involved in trying to look out for her than such an impersonal connection such words implied. Under different circumstances he might have said they were friends, but Aki never let herself get that close to him or anyone else for that matter.

Best not to dwell on the nuances of a relationship that may or may not exist once Aki saw the mess he'd made in her apartment. Loki hastily tossed his near shoulder length hair and set to work clearing the counters and floor around the computer of empty, half-eaten take out food containers. One of these days he would actually learn to cook, or so he kept telling himself that. Actually, he was rather hoping a certain someone would step up and give him a real reason to learn. After all, it was more fun to learn to cook for someone else.

There came a sharp knock on the door to the apartment directly before his particular "certain someone" walked in before he could answer it. Kaoru was a thing of efficiency, business, and design. She was a trendsetter and, in his humble opinion, absolutely gorgeous. The snappy entrepreneur had learned long ago to flout her physical oddities to her advantage. Which is why everything she wore was strategically calculated to offset her full head of naturally pink hair and odd candy-apple red eyes. Of course modern society chalked it up to color contacts and hair dye, not partial youkai heritage.

"My, my, my, Loki," she sing-songed at him. "What's this, not working again I see." Loki almost always regretted bragging to Kaoru about landing this so-called easy job in Aki's employ. She'd since taken it into her head to make sure Aki was getting her money's worth from him by checking on him at random intervals.

On the upside, he got to see her more often, but normally Kaoru was too busy playing drill sergeant for him to make much progress winning her over. Not that it would've done him any good to flirt with her more than he already did. Kaoru refused to believe it was more than him just trying to boost her self-esteem. Not that she didn't already think somewhat highly of herself.

Kaoru was very aware of her own worth when it came to her business and matchmaking and she had absolutely no qualms in letting others know it. No, she just didn't believe she had any chance at a romantic involvement with anybody. She was the matchmaker, not the defenseless client; the manipulator of love, not the other way around. Though poor Loki was stuck loving her without tangible hope of ever achieving his goals; he couldn't stop trying either.

"No, I am working," Loki defended himself. Cleaning _was_ a form of work; some people even got paid for it. True, it wasn't exactly in his rather nebulous job description, but then, that job description would be come "unemployed" if he didn't clean up the mess.

"Loki," her tone became very condescending, the way it would if a child were trying to lie badly to cover up some misdeed. "What are you doing?"

"Cleaning," he replied shortly.

"Loki, you never clean, not unless…" Kaoru began and immediately brightened. "Aki is back isn't she? And you weren't going to tell me!" she accused him playfully. "When is she going to get here?"

"Later, and then I'm taking her out to eat. You know how she never eats a lot unless you take her out," Loki didn't bother explaining further, Kaoru wasn't listening anymore.

"Few hours? Good, good! I still have time to set some things up. You will of course be taking her to my club tonight. It's the perfect place…" here Kaoru dug out her very own special black book. Inside the charcoal covers were the phone numbers, addresses, and short descriptions of every unmarried person she had ever met and not already matched. "Lets see… Who has enough time to get here?" She dug out her cell phone and began dialing numbers like crazy.

"Ah, Kaoru," he tried to interrupt weakly. Aki wasn't going to like this. Of course, Kaoru didn't hear him, lost as she was in making "ambush Aki with love" plans. Loki shrugged and gave it up for a lost cause. He finished clearing away his trash while trying to ignore Kaoru's matchmaking frenzy.

It wouldn't do to interrupt her, especially not if he wanted to win brownie points. Besides it was well nigh impossible to get Kaoru to stop her planning once she'd started, as he knew from past experience. And it was damn near infeasible that you could find your way free of that stupid book until Kaoru herself had matched you up. Loki well remembered the last date she'd set him up on. He shook his head, what a disaster that had been.

It was about then that a loud pounding began on the door…and never stopped.

"Will you knock it off? If she's home, she's already heard you by now!" an irritated female voice yelled on the other side of the door. "Aki-chan, if you're home let us in, it's me, Kagome," the voice called.

Loki opened the door, if only to end the constant pounding. Kagome was the landlord's niece. She also traveled through a certain well like Aki. "She's not back yet," Loki began.

Kagome's eyes went wide and Loki was suddenly very aware of what he was wearing. He never really paid attention to what he wore at Aki's apartment. She was never present and when she was, she never made a comment about it, mostly because she didn't care and was American. Kaoru never worried about his clothed state, because she wasn't interested, or at least it seemed that way. Sad but true. They'd spoiled him for the rest of Japanese society, in which answering the door without a shirt in mid afternoon was terribly unacceptable, especially in as nice a neighborhood as this one.

Kagome continued to stare while the dog-eared boy to her left, Inuyasha he guessed, began to growl. It was the third person's reaction that puzzled him the most. The tall, white-haired male looked ready to kill Loki where he stood.

The poor youth smiled weakly, "Um, you could, come in and, uh, wait for her if you like." Somehow he was getting the impression his life was about to end.

"Who are you!" Inuyasha demanded suspiciously. He didn't like that Kagome was staring at this strange male. He didn't like that the male was in Aki's apartment without her. But mostly he didn't like the way he looked.

"Hey, Loki, when do you…" Kaoru trailed off, surprised at their new company.

"Hello, I'm Kagome Higurashi," Kagome introduced herself after shaking off her shock and embarrassment. Loki was good looking, in a somewhat tame kind of way. He had nothing on Inuyasha in her opinion, but realized her opinion isn't what mattered. In fact, the only thing that mattered was that the situation was almost certain to escalate into violence if someone didn't step in to turn the tide, but Kagome couldn't do it alone.

"And I'm Kaoru Tamaki," her bright pink head bobbed in greeting. "This is Loki. He works for Aki don't you Loki." Oh yeah, she could diffuse a situation like a pro.

"Yeah, I'm researching information on Aki's family for her." He smiled with false brightness. Neither male appeared to buy it though.

"If you are servants of Aki, then what are you doing in such a state of undress in the public areas of her home?" the tall as yet unnamed one demanded.

"That's because he is normally here on his own, and nobody really minds," Kaoru dismissed the issue. "Besides, Aki's American. They're not so squeamish about this sort of thing. And I am not Aki's servant or employee, I'm doing her a favor by checking to make sure Loki does what he's paid to do."

"How do we know you're not just lying to save your skin? You could just be robbers," Inuyasha thought out loud. "Either way, I don't think we should let them get away without some sort of warning for the male's state of undress, Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha cracked his nails threateningly.

Sesshoumaru was all for warning off this unknown male who may or may not know Aki; Who may or may not work for her; who may or may not be something more than a simple member of her staff. He didn't like the feeling coiling in his gut in the face of this very obvious indication that perhaps Aki didn't want him because she had other options; Options that didn't live 500 years before her time; Options that weren't prone to treating her like a possession against her wishes.

He didn't need this. It was bad enough to lose his contract with Aki and then lose her in the night as she spirited away to this god-awful place that he couldn't reach without aid. And somehow he didn't think that the fact this whelp was a great deal less than pure youkai would bother Aki all that much. Yes, he could use this opportunity for some much needed stress relief.

Loki looked at the now identified demon and saw his death staring back at him. OH shit! This had been the guy Aki had experienced all that weird and twisted marriage stuff with, and from the looks of things he hadn't wanted to let her go. What's more, the pureblooded youkai was very ready to strike out at anything that happened to cross his path and remind him that Aki was her own person and out of his reach. Unfortunately that anything just happened to be him at the moment.

And then, the phone rang. Everyone jumped in surprise at the shrill sound as it lanced through the air disrupting the pointless tension filling the living room and doorway. ON the third ring the answering machine picked up and Aki's calm voice floated through the air.

"I thought I told you I hated these machines," she grumbled quietly. "Anyway, it's looking like I'm not going to be able to get there before dinner if we want to eat at a decent hour. So I'll have to meet you there instead. Juno says you were planning to take me to The Demon S as I haven't been there in a while. I'm warning you now, if Kaoru tries to set me up I'm going to leave." Aki paused on the other end while everyone in the apartment stared at the phone. "So meet you at the Demon S around 7. Later," and the call ended.

"So you weren't lying," Inuyasha fairly growled in disappointment.

"What is this place, this demoness she spoke of?" Sesshoumaru demanded.

"The Demon S is one of the hottest clubs in Tokyo. It's kind of a combination of an American style dance club and Karaoke bar that serves awesome international cuisine. It's fair impossible to get in most of the time. IT gets worse on nights when _the_ Demon S herself shows up," Kagome gushed excitedly.

Kaoru beamed at her, "It also happens to be my most successful business establishment. Especially since Aki started going upon occasion."

"You own the Demon S!" Kagome squealed in disbelief. "Nobody's going to believe this at school! I just have one question and please answer it. All my friends have been dieing to know. Who is the Demon S?"

Kaoru chuckled, "That is privileged information that I am not at liberty to release." She looked at Loki, "Though I can promise she'll be making an appearance at the club tonight."

"Really?" Kagome fairly shrieked, much to the discomfort of nearly everyone in the room. "I wish I could go."

"We are going," Inuyasha snorted, "I don't trust these two until I see Aki greet them in person."

Loki sighed, "It was supposed o be a stress free dinner. Doesn't look like it's going to be though."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Nothing much. Now we have to find you guys something to wear," Loki replied. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru looked at him blankly. He was one to talk, dressed as he was.

But Loki was right. The two could not go to a nightclub dressed like some Period piece extras. The kimonos and swords would have to go.

Kaoru somehow managed to get the brothers and Kagome changed into clothing she approved of so fast it made Kagome's head spin. But they looked good, the ninth grader had to admit, especially when Inuyasha was done. They looked _damn_ good.

Loki had done his best to dress to subtly match Kaoru with the tiny hope that the aggressive males would pick up on the message. The last thing he needed was for them to continue under the assumption that he had an interest in Aki. His life would find a quick end, especially if Sesshoumaru really was the guy Aki had been talking about. Pureblooded males tended to greatly dislike competition.

Thankfully, it appeared that at least the taiyoukai picked up on the attempt.

A phone call to the local cab company provided them with the necessary transportation, which almost proved a fatal decision as well. The boys from the feudal era didn't exactly trust the growling noxious van that pulled up out front of the building and almost couldn't be talked into climbing peaceably inside of it. Again Kaoru proved her abilities as some kind of mysterious super woman and managed to get them all in the cab so that they made it to the club about half an hour before Aki was expected.

"Ah! We forgot to cover Inuyasha's ears!" Kagome fretted as they were getting out of the cab.

"Don't worry about it," Kaoru soothed the teenager. "Part of the fun of going to a club called the Demon S is dressing up for it. And the inside game is trying to figure out which demon features are real and which are props, cute little dog ears are par for the course."

Inuyasha did not like having his ears declared cute in that silly tone she'd used, he almost growled before Kagome reached over and tweaked one of them with a happy smile. Kagome obviously thought they were cute; he supposed he could live with that as long is it was the right kind of "cute" and not the Shippou kind of "cute".

Loki laughed at some remembered thought, "Wonder what absurd costume Bantou will come up with tonight! Remember when he tried to pass off a pair of polka dot feathered ears and plaid leathery wings in the same get up? I thought Aki would choke to death on her stifled laughter!"

Kaoru smirked nostalgically, "It didn't help that he kept asking her to dance too."

"Yeah, well you shouldn't have encouraged him so much. I don't even know what possessed you to try that match. Aki and Bantou would never have worked," Loki chuckled and shook his head.

Her candy-apple eyes flashed in annoyance, "It was merely an experiment for field research. How am I supposed to match people up if I don't know how they react to certain types of people?"

"You didn't need to know how she reacted to different types of people. Aki doesn't want you to find her a match, Kaoru," Loki pointed out.

"Nor does she need you to," Sesshoumaru growled.

"Look, Aki's lucky she's in my capable hands and doesn't give off a scent. You know what sort of situation she'd be in otherwise, Loki. A partial youkai female of her caliber is rare," Kaoru declared snappishly. "The fact that she wasn't claimed at birth is a miracle. If she'd been publicly released of that spell in youkai society it would've been a free for all and Aki might have found herself trapped in a match where she would be taken by force or beaten or kept locked away from the world. You know this, Loki. Females are too rare in most of our people's minds to be gifted with the kind of freedom Aki was raised with. I don't know what her parents were thinking, letting her be raised a human."

Kaoru shared a few cryptic words with the bouncer at the front door before leading them inside the large building under the neon lights.

The noise inside the doors made continued speech impossible and Kaoru had to pull Inuyasha into the club somewhat forcefully while Kagome pushed Sesshoumaru gently from behind. Kaoru lead them pointedly from the door to another door marked "authorized personnel only". Once the door shut behind them the noise was greatly curtailed to a tolerable level.

"So what you're saying is that because Aki is such a powerful female with such a large portion of youkai blood she has to hook up with a youkai male?" Kagome asked.

"Pretty much," Kaoru shrugged.

Loki shook his head, "not exactly. Youkai females are extremely rare, and most are betrothed at birth to offer the girl some protection until she's old enough to make her own choice to either mate her betrothed or not. Then he is hopefully old enough to protect herself, or at least her family can offer her protection until a choice has been made, but that often doesn't happen if the betrothal is dropped. Kaoru just likes to act as matchmaker and she's pulling out all the stops to get Aki mated despite her objections."

"She shouldn't have any objections! She should already be mated!" Kaoru declared with feeling.

They found the end of the hallway with its set of stairs and stepped into a room that looked onto the dance floor through one-way glass. The room sported a simple table and some chairs over luxurious carpet. There was a lamp in the far corner being kept company by some overstuffed chairs and a small coffee table.

"This used to be my office until Aki started coming here," Kaoru explained the room, hoping to change the subject after catching the glare Sesshoumaru threw her way. "Now it serves mainly as her dining room. I don't really mind though, this wasn't really the best room to get anything done."

"What she isn't telling you is that the rest of the time she uses this room for people she's set up on blind dates. Kaoru first thought of using this room for that purpose after Aki told her it was impossible to get to know some one if you can't hear what they're saying," Loki teasingly corrected the matchmaker queen.

"It sounds like you've known Aki a long time," Kagome observed.

"About as long as you have," he smiled at her. "Aki called me right after she came back through the well the first time. She's told me everything that's happened on that side of the well ever since, including about all your friends and their misadventures in the great shard hunt. For example, I know about what you and Miroku did out in the woods that one time."

Kagome blushed, "How would she know about that?" she demanded over Inuyasha's outburst demanding the information.

"Aki has very acute senses," he explained. "In the beginning she had a hard time filtering through it, but now she says she can hear the kids whispering to each other in their secret haunts on the other side of Kaede's village when she's standing at the bottom of the well. She just happened to be passing close enough to you guys to overhear your conversation."

"Why would Aki tell you anything?" Inuyasha demanded only to have the conversation skip right over him as the gathered occupants of the room turned at the entrance of a somewhat out of breath young woman.

"Loki!" she gasped at him, shoving her shock purple hair over her shoulder.

"Juno!" Loki exclaimed. "Where's Aki? Is she here?" he began frantically looking out the window to the dance floor and club beyond.

"I don't know where she is," Juno looked close to tears. "She lost me about an hour ago, but not before she told me what she wanted for dinner."

"Then she'll definitely show," Kaoru soothed her.

"I knew it was a bad idea when you assigned me to follow her," Juno complained.

"No, you do a great job, Aki likes you," Loki said encouragingly.

"Aki 'likes' her because she knows how to loose her," Kaoru muttered dryly and Loki gave her a disapproving glare.

"Why were you having Aki followed?" Inuyasha wanted to know.

Loki blinked, "the city isn't all fun and games, schools and playgrounds. Even on the brightest days there are shadows."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning there are predators and prey in the city too. Every place has its dangers fool, we simply seek to lesson the chances of those dangers rising up to claim Aki," Kaoru explained derisively. "Granted muggings and rape incidents have dropped dramatically out of respect for Aki. She's impressed a lot of people and all the most powerful gangs are run by youkai who have taken to policing all the less powerful gangs in order to protect her because most don't know her on sight."

"Aki does a lot for the kids who are less fortunate. A good number of those kids wind up in the gangs so they feel that she is directly helping them too," Juno explained. "She's polite to just about everyone and she tries to protect everyone she meets. That's enough for most people who don't know about her curse. For those of us who know, I think we'd set her up as a queen if she'd let us."

"Did you tell Tuck what Aki wanted yet?" Kaoru asked the purple haired woman as she picked up the phone on the wall.

Juno nodded. "I also asked for something I could eat. I get hungry when I'm upset."

Kaoru smiled at her, "You're always hungry."

"Seems like it these days don't it?" Juno smiled warmly. "It comes from eating for two." Kaoru grinned at her, while Kagome offered congratulations.

"They had you follow Aki in your condition?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly.

"Yeah," Juno looked at him somewhat surprised that he had spoken at all. "It's probably the easiest job they could have given me. I mean all I gotta do is follow Aki and call for help if she gets into trouble. The likelihood of that happening is very slim in the daytime. Most of the random elements come out after dark. Besides, I'm only just into my 2nd trimester and the doc advises a certain amount of exercise."

"Look, Kaoru!" Kagome squealed. "She's here! The Demon S is here!"

"Well then come on, Kagome! You didn't come to sit in a closet!" Kaoru grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door, down the hall and stairs and into the noise.

Everybody else just gravitated to the window to look out on the floor. There in the middle of the dance floor, was the mysterious popular sensation, the Demon S, and she looked suspiciously like a human Aki with streaked hair and strange make up to disguise her identity.

Sesshoumaru blinked at the vision before him. Surely people didn't really dance like that here. His eyes tried very hard to persuade him that what he saw was the truth, in which case, he hadn't known that Aki could bend like that.

He really didn't like this. Or rather he liked her dance, he just didn't like that she was moving like that in public. Seriously movement like that should be reserved for the privacy between intimate couples at home. He balled his fist driving his claws into his palm painfully. He didn't even realize he was shaking until Loki whispered quietly in his ear.

"Relax," Loki said as Aki found a partner that set Sesshoumaru growling angrily. "I highly doubt he'd partner himself with Aki while Juno's carrying his baby. And I don't think Aki would let him get away with it either. Aki merely chose him because he's safe and already attached to someone else."

Sesshoumaru had to acknowledge Loki's logic. There were very few youkai that would abandon a pregnant mate. It was as his own rage was cooling that he realized Inuyasha was growling rather threateningly despite Juno's increasingly desperate attempts to soothe and distract him. The taiyoukai glanced back out the window and spotted Kagome dancing in a situation similar to his Aki.

Though Inuyasha had no formal claim on the teenager, it was clear that he had fixated on the girl for his mate. After spending some time around the two in his search for his own wayward mate, Sesshoumaru found that, despite himself, he approved. Not that it mattered right now.

Sesshoumaru looked back to his little brother. If someone didn't intervene there would be an incident. He sighed discreetly before pulling a chair from the table and setting it against the wall furthest from the glass. He strode back to the hanyou and, with some resistance, managed to seat the near enraged dog boy in the chair.

"What'd you do that for!" Inuyasha snarled ferally as he tried and failed to gain his feet.

"Stopping you from making a very grave mistake," Sesshoumaru answered coolly. Loki and Juno were wisely pretending to be incredibly deaf and most likely blind. "You have no real claim to the girl and she is doing nothing wrong by her customs," sometimes he should take his own advice, "were you to burst out of here and confront her about her behavior, you would serve not only to cause yourself and our…hosts trouble we do not know how to deal with, but you would also seriously embarrass the wench and yourself. What happens when you embarrass her?"

Inuyasha settled almost immediately. If he was stupid enough to embarrass Kagome where people she knew might see…Let's just say the Earth simply wasn't large enough to contain the crater he would make. Inuyasha blinked, why was Sesshoumaru so calm. The question plain on his face, the dog boy opened his mouth to ask it.

"If you had been listening before, you would know that Aki's friend is Juno's mate," the taiyoukai said quiet enough for only Inuyasha to hear. "From what I know of Aki, it is about as safe a situation as could be hoped for." With that, both brothers rejoined the other two at the window and Sesshoumaru immediately wished he hadn't.


	2. Will She, Nill she

pah, Wednesday again, and I'm working. But its all good. I may actually be finding myself in a particularly comfortable regular schedule, that is I might because everybody else is abandoning the softlines departments of the store like rats escaping a sinking ship. Well, not exactly. One's going on maternity leave, one has had enough of softlines, and everybody else that wasn't a dpt manager had good reason. Except me. oh well.

ON the other hand, Sesshoumaru actually catches up with Aki in this chapter, and Kaoru's would-be match for Aki makes his rather lack-luster appearance, just to piss Sesshoumaru off. (That last bit was me, not Kaoru or her mystery guy for Aki.)

And of course, Aki takes off again after getting royally pissed off by Kaoru, heehee. oh and we get to meet Tuck, someone else to piss off Sesshoumaru.

I should probably tell you, Fred does not make an appearance at all during this part of the stroy, but don't worry, His absence is compensated for. I won't say how, but just know that it is. AS for the rest well there's Rumiko Takahashi's characters, some of whom are in disguise.

Enjoy!

**Will She, Nil She**

Like every pop icon, fad, dance, song or food, the Demon S as an individual took two people to create. There had to be someone to be the Demon S and someone who just thought that was so awesome they had to tell their friends. Thankfully nobody had ever discovered the Demon S's true identity so Aki could pretend she wasn't herself every once in a while and the world didn't hound her about the strange phenomenon where they all actually thought she was just so cool.

Kaoru had been Aki's second person, and the whole thing snowballed from there. People were drawn to Aki and the vibe she set off when she really let loose and felt the music. It was the only time she let her memories go and simply became a living breathing creature with no true thought but to groove with the joy of movement. She was exotic to the Japanese public no matter how she dressed and applied her make-up and the uninhibited way she moved set the spirits of others free to do the same.

It was almost like she was the strongest legal drug available to the public, something that blocked out all the pain and sorrow and worries of every regular day and turned this random appearance of an unidentified woman into a memory people wished to repeat.

This had not been explained to Sesshoumaru, and it wouldn't have comforted him any if it had. He did not like the whole display. He did not like the way people danced here, and there was no way to reconcile him to the way these modern dance floors were so crowded with other males. Nope, there was no help for it.

Eventually, the Demon S pardoned herself from the dance floor and retreated briefly to the DJ booth.

The smell of cooked meat preceded the entrance of a very tall, distinguished, white haired youkai male.

"Tuck, you old dog!" Loki called laughingly, "you didn't have to bring it yourself!"

Tuck looked at the raucous juvenile mildly, "Actually, yes, I did, if I wanted to see everybody's favorite time-traveler. Besides, it's eight, I'm off for the night." The cook smirked slyly. "Aki's my responsibility for the rest of the night."

Juno shook her head, "I want to know how you know precisely when she'll come back early enough to ask for the night off. You've got the best forecasting system I know."

Sesshoumaru looked Tuck up and down and immediately disliked him if for no other reason than for the other male's unknown connection to Aki.

"Nonsense," Tuck disclaimed all Juno said. "I just wanted the night off."

"For what purpose?" the pregnant partial youkai asked curiously.

"Doesn't matter," the cook replied, "I'm now looking after Aki."

Meanwhile down the hall where Aki was just now exiting the noisy part of the club, Loki (who'd snuck down the hall during the exchange between Tuck and Juno) pulled his employer aside.

"Before you head up there," he nodded to the door at the top of the stairs, "I thought I'd warn you that a certain dog boy and demon lord stopped by the apartment today."

Aki sighed and closed her eyes, "The fates must really hate me," she groaned. "They're here, in that room and angry about the whole Demon S thing right?"

"I'm not sure, the tall one's a bit hard to read," Loki replied sarcastically. "Next time you attract the romantic interest of a full-blooded youkai a little warning might be nice in the event that he attempts to track you down and runs into me instead."

"He didn't hurt you did he?" Aki asked.

"No," he replied with a sigh. "Kaoru just happened to be in the apartment at the time and pulled my bacon out of the fire. I'm still kind of in the hot seat, but that's my fault. I answered the door without a shirt on and kind of pissed Inuyasha off right from the start and he's been doing his best to keep Sesshoumaru's anger focused on me."

"Aw, Kaoru's keeping you alive," Aki chuckled.

"Shut up," Loki grumbled. "Tuck's already brought up your dinner, so at least there is that."

Aki's expression brightened until there was absolutely no sign of weariness in it.

Spending time with Tuck was relaxing for Aki. The two of them could sit in complete silence for hours.

Tuck had lost his long time mate in the last decade or so, and was reticent to form new attachments, especially to exceedingly young people. Which suited Aki's purposes just fine, as she wasn't looking to form any sort of relationship at all. It was a strange comfort to spend time with another person who didn't care who or what or why you did so. There was no risk because there was no desire for friendship on either side. All conversation was kept light and somewhat impersonal.

Still, there was something incredibly soothing about spending time with Tuck. After this last month's misadventures, Aki had a few guesses as to why, but she wasn't going to waste her breath voicing them.

Aki climbed the stairs and launched herself into the room and onto Tuck like an overeager child attacking a pile of candy. "Tuck!" she squealed cheerfully at him.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk!" the cook looked her over. "You'll have to stay awhile so I can fatten you up properly. You are too skinny!"

Aki playfully frowned at him, "I don't need fattening up! If I get too fat you might eat me!" Tuck chuckled at their little play and snapped his teeth at her in jest. "Though I am hungry," she continued, "and your cooking would just about hit the spot right now."

The old youkai turned to the side slightly to allow an unobstructed view of the feast that smelled so good. "Then fall upon this like the ravenous beast we all know you must be," Tuck gestured grandly over the place setting.

"Ravenous, eh?" Aki smirked as she moved to the table. "Been reading the dictionary again, Tuck?" The cook just shrugged with an enigmatic smile. A not so mild growl cut into their bantering as Aki moved closer to the old youkai in order to sit down. "Yes, yes, I know you're here. Do stop growling, I'm trying to eat," she sighed without bothering to look in the direction the noise came from.

Tuck turned his attention to the taiyoukai for the first time and smirked madly at the look he was receiving. Aki caught his smirk and glanced in Sesshoumaru's direction and nearly burst out laughing. It was amazingly hilarious that one would be jealous of the other.

The former English tutor shook off her mirth and turned to seriously tend to her meal. "So, Tuck, tried out any new recipes?" she asked, making polite dinner conversation to subdue the tension in the air. Juno groaned and rolled her eyes while the old youkai thought of his response.

"I'm afraid there hasn't been anything new," he replied, with an amiable smile. "Nothing new has caught my interest." For Tuck's most notorious hobby was to try and invent or just make new dishes to test his skills. Some of his endeavors turned out rather well, while others…well, the shrimp and beetle ice cream flavor never did catch on. Loki's gang near loathed it when Tuck found something new to try as they often served as his taste testers. And Aki was terrible about helping the old youkai find new ideas, the ice cream fiasco started with her gift of an ice cream maker.

"Maybe I should find my mom's old recipe cards," Aki offered. "I dare say there might be something good in there for you to try." Juno groaned again as Aki smiled innocently enough.

"I swear Aki," the pregnant woman grumbled. "I'm not sure if you like any of us at all or if you're trying to kill us."

"If I wanted to kill you I wouldn't use Tuck's cooking. While his cooking forays aren't always palatable, they are always safe to eat," Aki shrugged. "And if I liked you, you wouldn't be alive to enjoy or hate Tuck's cooking one way or another."

Silence draped its uncomfortable weight around the room's occupants. Aki continued her meal, defiantly ignoring the various glares she was receiving from Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru and Juno.

The door to the club proper banged open to allow a brief flood of noise and five distinct sets of footsteps moved towards the secret dinner room. Aki recognized three of the sets and silently groaned as she bolted the last vestiges of food from her plate so fast Sesshoumaru couldn't contain his alarm.

She knew what was coming next. How could she not, when it happened every time she came home. Coming down that obscenely long hallway and staircase at a sickingly sedate pace was another one of Kaoru's would-be Match-made-in-Heaven guys.

No matter how much Aki protested the continued activities of the self-proclaimed Queen matchmaker, Kaoru would persist in her attempts to have Aki mated – whether she wanted to be or not. It was a foregone conclusion that this night would end early and unpleasantly. With Sesshoumaru also in the mix, the result was doubly certain.

Kaoru may ruin the rest of the night, but Aki was determined to keep the young entrepreneur from ruining her meal…even if she had to eat it too fast to taste. She managed to pull it off, barely.

"Why, hello everyone," Kaoru trilled with a fluorescent smile of anticipation. "Look who I just _happened_ to bump into." Aki rolled her eyes as Loki winced at the incredibly obvious lie. "It's one of my old friends from business school."

"I thought you said everybody in business school hated your guts and purposely tried to sabotage your success," Juno puzzled aloud.

Kaoru shot the pregnant gang member a withering look, "We garnered some very pleasant memories there, don't you remember Cole?"

"Like the time they tried to dye your hair green," Juno cut in.

"Or the time they broke all your pens and dripped the ink all over your bed and the antique kimono your grandmother left you?" Tuck added, giving Juno a conspiratorial smirk. "Or the time they locked you in the basement of your dorm with two feral pit bulls that belonged to your academic advisor?"

"Or the time we tried to light your chair on fire at graduation?" the stranger Kaoru hadn't been trying to introduce joined in and received a scathing glare of his own from his friend.

"Shut up all of you!" Kaoru halted their banter. "Anyways, this is Cole Harper and his soon-to-be-dead friend, who is unimportant and shall remain nameless. He graduated top of his class, after me of course," the pink haired matchmaker added.

"Not interested," Aki stated firmly. "It's not you, it's me. I'm sure you know the rest of the speech. Lets leave it there and call it quits okay?"

Cole's friend laughed in an outrageously amused sort of way. This may well be the most interestingly quick date Kaoru had ever set Cole up for.

Kaoru was ready to spit nails. "AKI!" she shouted.

"KAORU!" Aki shouted back.

"You're being rude to my guest who – "

"Who you invited to try to set me up with despite the many times I've told you not to," Aki interrupted her would-be matchmaker. "Do you need me to tell you one more time to make it absolutely clear?"

"Aki calm down," Loki warned quietly, his alarm growing steadily as Aki's eyes flashed more green.

"Don't 'Aki calm down' me!" she grated. "I've had enough of the whole thing! Listen up!" She looked to the currently silent demon lord to include him in what she was about to impart, "I am _not_ interested in a boyfriend, mate, lover, husband, significant other or life partner – "

"Nonsense"

"Now see here!"

"Of course you say that."

"What do you mean?" exploded from the room's many varied occupants plus a few more stunned responses that defy conventional spelling.

"SHUT UP!" Aki yelled over them all. "I wasn't finished!" the effort left her hands shaking. "I'm not interested, so _stop_ trying to set me up for one." She sighed tiredly and did her best to keep her hands from betraying her current weakness. "Sorry Cole, I'm sure you're a great guy and all. I hope you find that great girl to match you." She made to slip out the door behind the group that had just come in from the dance floor.

"Aki, are you all right?" Loki asked her, stopping her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Why wouldn't I be, I haven't done anything," she answered cryptically.

"Aki you need a mate! It's absurd that you don't have one already!" Kaoru refused to admit defeat. Aki rolled her eyes, instantly angry again.

"Kaoru, drop it!" Loki ordered.

Of course wayward pink haired businesswomen never listen to orders, even when maybe they should. "Shut up, Loki. I wasn't talking to you," Kaoru growled at him.

Aki's eyes flashed again, that was it! Aki's mouth stretched into a villainous smile that promised mental anguish to whoever was her target. Loki's attempt to keep the peace was completely steamrolled over as Aki closed in for the attack. "Kaoru, don't continue with this botched idea of everybody mated equals everybody happy. It doesn't work. Some people have very good reasons not to want a partner in life. Some prefer the freedom. Some have issues with trust. Some deem themselves unworthy of such a commitment. But you and me…we've one of the same reasons," Kaoru blanched. "If you insist on continuing this annoying hobby of yours with me as the target I will be forced to share your secret with more than just this little room." Aki paused quietly, "After all, what good is a mate when you can't have children." And with that Aki brushed off Loki's hand and slipped out of the room.

Sesshoumaru stared after her, not quite sure what just happened. At first he'd been angry another male had been brought to Aki as a potential mate. Then he'd been smugly satisfied Aki had firmly brushed the other guy off.

After that it got kind of confusing.

He'd understood what was said and what it meant. He just didn't understand how a female so young could be sterile. True, youkai females weren't always fertile, but they were never completely barren until much later in life. What had happened to the world to cause such an aberration? It was confusing as hell, enough to give a person a headache just thinking of the possibilities…

But that wasn't all that confused him. Just before Aki had left, he'd smelled blood, her blood, though no one had done anything to cause a blood-wound and she hadn't done anything to herself while he was watching.

"Guess I'd better go…"Tuck began.

"Don't _any_body think of following me home! I don't want to see any of you for the rest of the night!" Aki called from down the stairs.

The old youkai grimaced, "Maybe I can talk her into letting me give her a ride home."

Loki nodded, "keep a sharp eye on her, her eyes were flashing there for a minute and, though she tried to hide it, her hands were shaking."

Tuck shook his head, "She's more tired than we thought"

"She smelled of blood," Sesshoumaru spoke up, "find out why." He recognized that Tuck was the only chance of having that problem taken care of any time soon, despite how it grated on him.

Inuyasha nodded, "I smelled it too."

Tuck nodded before taking off after Aki.

"You know it wouldn't be so hard to look after her if she wasn't so determined not to let us," Juno mused.

"Why do you feel the need to look after her?" Kagome asked curiously. "She's always been able to take care of herself. And why does she look so different?"

"Aki needs to look as human as possible in the city, but she never had to practice holding her illusions for a long time when she was growing up like the rest of our people," Juno began. "So we had to modify a tool we use for children too young to be trusted to hold their own illusions for extended periods of time." Kagome blinked at her.

"She means the bracelets Aki was wearing," Loki explained. "They're holding Aki's illusion in place using her own energy. But the bracelets were meant for children who normally aren't as tired as Aki tends to be. Flares of strong emotion causes the bracelets to draw more energy from the wearer, energy Aki doesn't exactly have a great store of."

"But that's only part of the problem." Juno picked up the explanation. "You may have noticed some of the noxious pollutants in the air here. Many believe that the reason there doesn't seem to be any strong mikos or priests anymore is because their powers are directed more towards purifying the air they breathe."

"This means that Aki's miko powers are constantly at work, cleaning the air she breathes," Kaoru clarified and took over the conversation. "Her youkai blood does not react well to it, limiting the amount of time Aki can safely spend in the city."

"If that's the case, why would she come back here at all?" Inuyasha growled, not liking one bit that just the air here could harm Kagome and Aki.

Juno laughed at him, "You've obviously never really thought about the many meanings of home." The dog boy looked at her blankly. "Sometimes you just need something familiar, something you can depend on to stay the same."

"Think about it," Kaoru suggested. "Where do you go when not only your body hurts, but your mind and heart? Where do you put things you want kept safe? Most likely, some place you trust to stay the same, some place familiar and comforting."

"We're just lucky Aki doesn't feel desperate enough to go all the way home," Loki sighed.

"Where is home for Aki?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly.

Kaoru looked at Loki, "You're never going to explain this without a globe."

Loki shrugged, "You wouldn't happen to have one handy, would you?"

She rolled her eyes, "Follow me."

On the wall opposite the door was a small angled recess that Kaoru approached purposely. Kaoru tapped out a very distinct pattern on the surface and the thing moved to reveal a moderately furnished office.

"Hey, it's the globe we got you for graduation!" Cole exclaimed temporarily lifting himself from the realm of the forgotten.

Kaoru glared at him, "You mean the mini-bar that doesn't open?" He had the grace to blush at her accusing tone.

"This might actually do the trick," Loki spoke, examining the defective piece of office furniture. "Okay, this little string of specks is Japan and this," he turned the globe halfway "is the country of Aki's origin." Inuyasha's eyes bugged out, spatial recognition and comparisons had never been a skill he needed to develop to such a degree. Sesshoumaru on the other hand, was familiar with the usage of maps and was adequately horrified at the incredible distance indicated by the map's scale.

Add to that the much larger size of the country indicated and it would be like trying to find a single chopstick in an extremely large rice paddy. Best to not let Aki ever get that far ahead of him.

"Well, all boring topics of conversation aside," Cole's friend clapped his hands. "The night is young…and so are we. Fair maiden," he lightly grasped Kagome's arm, "there's a dance floor out there positively screaming for you to grace it."

Kagome laughed at his silly wording and manner. "Then lets go put it out of its misery," she said sportingly, cutting off Inuyasha's protest.

"After all, us poor slums not directly involved in the fiasco tonight should do our very best to not let it ruin our evening." He offered his other arm to Juno, "I hear your mate is already on the floor, come we shall bring you to him," he picked up a phony British accent just for fun.

"I would be ever so grateful," the pregnant woman played along and the three trooped out of the office trailing one irate hanyou.

"Well, this evening's appointment turned out to be a total waste. Kaoru," Cole began, "lets dance for old times sake despite the evenings unsatisfying conclusions."

"Pfft! Old time's sake?" Kaoru stomped her foot. "There's nothing worth that title. Come one Loki, lets show the stuff shirt you have to know how to move to stay on the floor of the _Demon S_."

"Stuff shirt?" Cole challenged. "I'll show you!"

Sesshoumaru was left alone in the office staring at the globe until his eyes unfocused in thought. Surely what Aki said wasn't her only reason for not accepting him back as her mate. He shook his head. No, Aki would have more than one reason for such behavior. Besides, how could she be absolutely certain of such a thing when she hadn't known until recently that she was youkai.

Would it make a difference either way? No, Sesshoumaru concluded. Aki was still Aki, still the one he wanted to claim. As to children, well mating contracts most often didn't last forever. He could have children of his own later. For now, he had Rin and Aki had Azusa. After all, there was more to being mates than just procreation, though that was its original purpose.


	3. Silent Night, Yeah Right!

Ah Wednesday, sweet Wednesday. Guess what! I'm not working today! Such joy, now I get to really enjoy the fact my whole family is either associated with the school or sleeps during the day so the house is mine! ah, quiet and peace. Let's just say after working this weekend, I deserve some downtime. Too bad I won't really get it.

I love how I can work 6 days in a row and still not get two days off together. But that is exactly what I did last week. I worked Tuesday through Sunday. I'm just happy one of the department managers fixed the bosses wagon and made my shift on Saturday longer than four hours. Four hour shifts have got to be the bane of all rational thinking people. They interrupt your whole day for chump change just because the manager in charge of the schedule doesn't want to take the time to look over the schedule and be smart about it. Even when you ask them about it, twice. Anyways, the department manager is my hero because she went directly over the head of our boss to fix this little problem so when the boss tried to yell at me about it, I could say it wasn't really my idea. I was planning to call in. With gas prices being what they've been, a four hour shift doesn't pay for the gas to get there.

But you don't care about that. You want to know what the hell is wrong with Aki and when is Sesshoumaru going to REALLY catch up with her and start in on ... well unreasonable behavior comes to mind.

Well guess what! You won't find out in this chapter! I am so evil. Though Sesshoumaru does finally get a moment alone with Aki, in her apartment, she's asleep! But you do find out where the crazy blood smell came from and why Aki is soo annoyed by Kaoru's matchmaking designs.

And if you think Sesshoumaru acts out of character in any of this, I defend myself by saying Rumiko Takahashi never foresaw Sesshoumaru in the kind of situations he's going to be getting into because I'm demented and she isn't!

Enjoy!

**Silent Night, Yeah Right!**

The ride to Aki's apartment was filled with the first uncomfortable silence ever experienced between Tuck and Aki. The reason being, on Aki's side, her growing frustration at everyone's deranged need to look after her. She was a grown woman, Damnit! She could walk to the store by herself just like everyone else did. She was no more special or important than anybody else. Genetics meant squat in the real world of today.

Normally, Aki could just push it aside and ignore all the coddling. But tonight, tonight she was tired of it. So, if only for the rest of the night, she was going to see to it that no one was around _to_ baby her.

Tuck moved to turn the engine off out front of Aki's apartment. He seemed nervously certain of an outbreak of World War VI inside his car.

"Don't bother turning the car off," Aki stalled his hand. "You're not getting out, you're not coming up, and you're not staying."

"Now, Aki," he began quietly.

She sighed, "Don't 'now Aki' me, Tuck. I'm a big girl and I'm not leaving my apartment for the rest of the night. I think I can take care of myself." She undid her seat belt to vacate the car.

"But those two said they smelled your blood," he argued. Aki paused, needing to think about what he said.

There was no need to ask who 'those two' were. 'Those two' were obviously Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru, as Tuck would not have referred to anyone else as such. No, the part she needed to think over was how to explain her blood without causing any alarm to Tuck thereby immediately losing the argument. She rolled her eyes, "It's just a scratch Tuck, I think I can handle one little cut. Or are you convinced that after spending so much time in the warring states period of this country I need you to patch up every bruise and scrape I manage to pick up?" and with that she closed the car door firmly and went inside without looking back. If she looked back Tuck would use it as a veiled invitation to come inside…He'd done it before.

She resisted the urge to look out the window in the stairwell too. She knew he was still there, sill watching. Mentally Aki shook her head, she should be glad of their worry. She should be happy that somebody still cared for her. Unfortunately caring and feeling was never a one-way street with her. If somebody cared for you, it was only fair that you should care for them back. And caring was something Aki couldn't afford to focus on any specific individual.

She shook her head and let herself into her apartment. Her coat and bag were thrown over the arm of a chair as she locked the door behind her. Aki quickly crossed the living room, headed straight for the bathroom through her bedroom. She quietly switched on the unforgiving lights all bathrooms seemed to have and stared at herself in the mirror.

Aki gave a dry laugh; she looked like hell. She turned on the faucet and proceeded to wash off the faded make up that had been her token disguise. She straightened back up and gazed into the mirror at her freshly scrubbed face. She didn't think she looked any better.

She sighed and rolled her shoulders. The immediate ripple of pain caused her brow to crease in confusion as she turned in the mirror. The so-called 'scratch' had bled through the entire back of her shirt. "Great!" Aki grumbled to the image opposite her, "Just great!" The near youkai pulled out the first aid kit in the drawer next to the sink and a pair of metal shears.

Quickly realizing the impossibility of saving the shirt, she set to work cutting it to pieces slowly exposing the bloody cause of her current woes. The wound itself wasn't much to look at; in fact it had seemed to heal just fine when she came out of the well just a few hours ago. She studied it in the mirror trying to detect if perhaps it had become infected or something equally distressing. Nothing, the wound seemed healthy enough. Aki sighed again. "Well whatever the problem is, it probably needs to be cleaned out," she again addressed the reflection and nodded. Right, a shower would do her good.

She pushed away from the sink to remove the rest of her clothing when her knees threatened to give out. "Okay, I'll take a bath then," she said pointlessly.

The hot water felt so good. She hadn't even realized how much she ached until the water helped to soothe the pain. Despite a very strong urge to just sit there and let the water work its magic, Aki quickly cleaned every inch of her skin and hair before launching herself out of the tub and into a big fluffy towel.

Carefully, she laid out the medical tape, antiseptic and clean bandages beside the sink before turning to look at it in the mirror. The bleeding had slowed significantly and she could clearly make out the jagged edges of a four-inch gash in her shoulder. Aki efficiently bandaged the scratch despite the awkwardness of not being able to look directly at it.

"You know," she told her reflection conversationally, "if I were really honest with myself, the reason I'm so annoyed by Kaoru's matchmaking is because I'm tempted. I'm tired of being alone and not caring."

She stared at herself for a long moment. She held her breath and let it out slowly before rolling her eyes at the mirror. "I'm the only person I know that can depress myself so completely in less than fifteen minutes." She gave a half smile. "I know just the teddy bear to fix this along with a good night's sleep." She nodded her head and pushed away from the counter.

Aki resolutely turned off the bathroom light and padded into her bedroom. She slipped into a tank top and pajama pants before tucking herself in with an old fuzzy stuffed bear. Who was to care, in the silent, empty darkness of her apartment if the old cotton fur was a little more damp than usual?

One person who might have cared a great deal was still stuck somewhere across town and wasn't exactly finding his night something worth continuing.

Sesshoumaru found his night quite unsalvageable after Loki's little geography lesson. Part of his problem was that he didn't exactly have a clue as to what he could do. There was dancing, but the primal gyrations out on the floor somewhat disgusted and alarmed him. The music was too loud and the crowd too dense.

If somebody had bothered to stay behind in the secluded office/dining room area he might have had the opportunity to converse. Not that he would have been particularly inclined to speak to any of these people anyway. He wasn't a big drinker and refused to eat anything he couldn't identify, which was most of the items on the club's menu because the cuisine was foreign.

Quite frankly, Sesshoumaru didn't know or understand the customs of this world and its people well enough to be comfortable with his environment, let alone enjoy himself. Not that Inuyasha let it stop _him_.

Then again, Inuyasha had Kagome to encourage him. Sesshoumaru sat watching his little brother and Kagome through the special glass, bitterly envious of their comfort with each other.

Eventually the taiyoukai grew weary of the feeling and forced himself to watch someone else. After a few hours he realized he wasn't really watching anything. His numbed mind had merely been staring at the glass. He'd had enough of his soundproofed voluntary prison.

The youkai lord purposefully strode through the club and out the door to the busy street outside.

Like all major cities at night, the streets around the dance clubs were busy with all sorts of life. Traffic moved sluggishly past filled parking spaces and crosswalks loaded with pedestrians out for a good time. Bouncers were plagued by girls and women of varying degrees of intoxication. Artificial perfumes, liquor, and body odor permeated the exhaust filled air. Men laughed and yelled, catcalling giggly females dressed to garner just such attention.

It was noisy. And crowded. One couldn't take two steps without either bumping into someone or accidentally cutting in some line.

For someone who had never seen so much humanity packed into such a small space it was a bit overwhelming.

Sesshoumaru stood, momentarily lost in the throng. He had no idea where he was going or how to get there until a sluggish, moisture filled breeze teased him with a tantalizing breath of fresh air. Just this brief moment when he could breath air devoid of the noxious smells of this time drew him along before he even knew he was moving.

He hadn't realized how noisome the smell had been until he'd received the respite. There was no way in hell he was going to willingly resubject himself to the imposing scents of strong perfumes, scented soaps, deodorant and after shave that reached out to strangle him through his sinuses. And that was without the added help of the hints of smoked narcotics and general pollution in the air.

As he chased the escaping breeze he slowly came to realize that it wasn't that this rare fresh air was moving away from him, but that the noxious air was closing in on the space that no longer contained it. Which meant a person with powerful powers of purification had recently passed this way. In Sesshoumaru's mind, that could only mean one person. Aki had been through here. Suddenly all of his attention was devoted to following this disappearing path of purified air.

It's a good thing he was so focused on what he was doing as it is not likely he would have appreciated the catcalling thrown in his direction from both females and males. Nor would he have appreciated the suggestive looks or gestures. What he did appreciate, though not consciously, was the strange parting of the crowd just ahead of him. It would seem that being incredibly tall and regal in appearance inspires total strangers to subconsciously get out of the way.

The phantom trail finally led him out of the entertainment district. Here, away from the crowds and traffic, the air could move more freely and the 'scent' was completely obliterated.

Sesshoumaru slammed his fist into a nearby wall in frustration, causing it to crack and crumble a little.

"Well what do we have here?" a snotty voice asked snidely. The inu youkai looked up to see a dark haired youth perched atop the wall he'd struck.

"It looks like one of the well-to-do bumpkins stumbled out of the playground," another voice answered from behind him. "And he's one of Loki's little friends from the smell of it."

"Kaoru's all the time getting perfume all over people," the first grinned toothily at him. "Too bad though, you looked like a nice guy."

"Yeah, too bad you didn't stay on Loki's turf," the second mock lamented.

"Ah, but suppose he didn't know?"

"Suppose you could be right. We could let him off easy."

"Yes, lets."

"Right, so hand over all your money and we'll let you leave with all your attributes intact."

Sesshoumaru blinked at them as they both now looked down at him from the top of the wall. They were threatening him. It was laughable. It was ridiculous. It was really happening.

Oh this was unforgivable! He glared up at them coolly as it started to rain.

The dark haired guy leapt down from the wall to stand in front of him. "Lord, but you are pretty. Why do you think he's not doing nothing?"

"Perhaps he doesn't quite understand his predicament," the other replied from the wall.

"Uh, Cro," the first began; noticing the stripes on Sesshoumaru's weren't made from any synthetic method. "I think we have a problem."

"What is it?" Cro leapt down from the wall finally getting a good look at their victim. "Oh I see."

"Didn't Loki's gang send word 'round of a new full youkai in town? What was the description again?" the first squeaked.

Cro cringed, "It matches this guy to perfection, Raven."

"I thought you'd say that," Raven winced. "Uh, sorry for the misunderstanding. I hear you're one of Lady Aki's guests. Heheh…" he swallowed nervously.

"We thought you were one of Loki's gang. They're not allowed in our territory unless they're trailing Aki. We usually assign one of our own to follow her as well," Cro berated himself, he was babbling.

"So uh, what brings you to our part of town?" Raven asked with false brightness. He didn't do near death situations very well.

Sesshoumaru blinked at them again. They knew of Aki, his Aki, which likely meant they knew where she lived or at least which direction he should go to find it. He wanted that information.

Sesshoumaru wasn't one to ask for things. Normally he just demanded information and it poured forth in waves. But this wasn't his world filled with people that knew who he was and what he was due. This was Aki's world and power worked differently here.

He'd seen it in the interactions of Loki and Juno, his subordinate. There was mutual respect and nearly equal status between the weaker and stronger. Aki had shown that from the beginning and he'd thought her strange and ignorant in the structures of power. Here in her world, it seemed he was the ignorant one.

"Hey guy, you in there?" Raven waved his hand in front of Sesshoumaru's eyes. He really didn't like being ignored and his youth made him bold.

"Knock it off Raven, it's rude," Cro admonished him watching the demon lord carefully. He looked back the way Sesshoumaru had come and looked further in the way he might have kept going before realizing the likely destination. The youkai statue had been taking the most direct route to Aki's apartment from the club Loki's people tended to frequent. Problem is, the most direct route was cut off by large buildings in a couple blocks, buildings that had to be gone around or leapt over. This guy most likely would've leapt over them, which is against the rules in Youkai society. Nobody wanted to wind up a science experiment.

"Hey, stranger," Cro broke into some of Raven's more embarrassing efforts to gain the youkai's attention. "I can show you the way to Aki's apartment if you want." His offer was immediately awarded the undivided attention of the stranger. "Of course if she decides to lock you out at this hour it's not my fault, but I can show you how to get there."

"Then do so," Sesshoumaru spoke evenly. Raven pretended to swoon at the sound.

"Raven knock it off," Cro narrowed his eyes crossly. He was no fool. He could sense just how likely this situation could turn out badly for them should _some_body take offense at his partner's antics. "Will you never grow up!" he muttered darkly.

"I am grown up! I'm legally twenty," Raven spouted proudly.

"Yeah, last week," Cro grumbled ignoring the twenty-year old's monosyllabic protest.

"Travel with him often?" Sesshoumaru couldn't help but poke fun at their antics; Aki was loosening him up a bit.

"Travel with him? I live with him!" Cro complained. "Don't know what the hell possessed me to share an apartment with him."

Raven blinked before answering the not-question. "Because I said yes." Cro growled in response. "Oh come off it! You know you didn't want me rooming with anybody else!" the irrepressible youth rolled his eyes. "I don't know which bothered you more. That someone might take advantage of me or that I might find someone else to hang my affection on."

Cro thanked whatever god it was cloudy tonight; no one could see the blush staining his cheeks. Even so he started walking a little faster with his head down. Never trust nature to hide that which embarrasses you, it enjoys a good laugh at your expense just like everyone else.

Sesshoumaru ignored their chatter. All that mattered to him at the moment was finding Aki. It seemed he did nothing but chase her these days.

"Hey mister." Raven called and received no response. "Yo stranger!" he tried again.

"Wake up, Whitey!" This was answered with a fierce growl and the sudden sensation claws at Cro's throat. He coughed nervously, "eh, heheh, I probably shouldn't have said that, but you weren't responding to anything else and we don't know your name."

Sesshoumaru just growled at him in response.

Raven blinked nervously. "Um," he looked at Cro still held in the full-blooded youkai's claws. "We have taken you as far as we're allowed." He backed up at the glare he received.

Cro gurgled as the claws on his throat constricted. "Look! We go any further it'll start a turf war. Maybe that doesn't matter to you, but Aki will be caught up in the middle of it! You're youkai, you should know how protective demons are about their territories, even if they are only part youkai!" Raven hissed.

Sesshoumaru loosened his grip, still reluctant to let go completely. It would be bad for a turf war to break out anywhere near Aki, especially if youkai were involved. Very few individuals survived a youkai turf war, the body count of even the smallest such wars in history was legendary. Youkai spent most of their lives avoiding the outbreak of turf wars, because once started over the smallest piece of land, not even the trees and grass were safe from the slaughter.

He could just see Aki in that situation, running around trying to stop the bloodshed. She would be massacred and he wasn't sure that she would be deterred if he told her that. Sesshoumaru nearly groaned in frustration.

"If you would be so kind as to drop my partner, I will tell you the rest of the way to the apartment," Raven offered.

Sesshoumaru promptly let go and mentally frowned at himself. He was listening to some pup that was younger than Aki? Something to chastise himself for later. He turned on his heel ignoring the Cro heap at his feet and fixed one of his famous glares on Raven. Sometimes it seems annoying conversations would not last so long if everyone could make one look talk as loud as one of his glares.

"Cro are you alright?" Raven asked in concern.

"Peachy," was the croaked response.

Raven nodded to himself before looking back to the forbidding figure before him. "Alright, before you take off, my name is Raven and that is Cro. Remember the names. The air moves more freely here and might blow our scent into Loki's turf without us actually going there. When next you see Loki tell him we lead you here. Even if he doesn't know we came this close. Turf wars have been started for less, so remember Cro and Raven. If you don't say anything I'll be sure Aki hears about it. The three block radius around her apartment is neutral territory during the day, and she knows me."

"Then why bother requesting that _I_ do it?" the youkai lord inquired with ire. He was no messenger.

"Because I'll also tell her of your behavior towards us and she'll take you to task for it! If you knew me better, you would also know I have a stellar imagination and fairly accurate character judgment. I could make up more stuff that sounds like something you would do and tell it to her as fact." Raven grinned mischievously. "Aki tends to be really protective of the kids she's helped in the past."

Sesshoumaru realized something, Raven may seem a bit immature and flighty, but when motivated the youth could be a bit scary. Damn. Not that he could do anything but growl about it.

Raven smiled satisfied he got his point across. "Alright then, you are free to leave our company. Aki lives in the building at the end of this street." Raven pointed decisively at the two-story building clearly visible even from here.

Sesshoumaru gazed down the well-lit street and wondered how they could honestly tell the difference between one building and the next. His eyes narrowed slightly, it mattered not. If they were wrong, he could always hunt them down and cause them bodily harm. Strangely enough he really wasn't interested in having to mete out revenge, he wanted them to be right. He wanted to find Aki, inhale her scent, and the soft sound of Aki's gentle voice and even breathing to block out the plethora of noises bombarding his senses. Hell, he wanted himself, and Aki, back down that accursed well NOW.

He nearly sighed but instead Sesshoumaru nodded his arrogant dismissal to the pair of guides and set off down the street.

Sesshoumaru stalked quietly down the street warily watching the shadows cast by the flickering streetlights. This world made him nervous.

It took only a few moments to walk the length of the street to the specified building. It would not have taken so long if he'd given in to the desire to run. The demon lord breathed a gentle sigh of relief when he pushed inside the door and caught a wisp of Aki's subtle scent. He silently padded up the steps to the second floor, found the key Loki had left under the mat and let himself into the only Haven he knew of in this place.

Sesshoumaru breathed deeply of the air, tasting it, savoring it, and found himself slumping back against the front door. He pushed away from the surface slightly disgusted by his temporary weakness. Really now, what was causing this weakness? Was it Aki, or the world around them filled with its poisonous fumes and debilitating noise? He shook his head, momentarily dropping the mask; it was something to worry about later. He padded quietly through the dark apartment headed straight to the open doorway to Aki's room. He could see her curled up on that 'bed' thing from the doorway; the light from the street fell in lines across her like stripes. He watched her softly breathing across that small expanse of carpet, and she never seemed so far away as right now.

Sesshoumaru eventually managed to force himself back down the hall. If he followed what his instincts had urged him to do, he didn't think he would survive her wrath. He found himself cursing her acute senses as he wandered back into the living room.

If Aki didn't have such strong powers of detection, he could have walked across her room, brushed the hair out of her face, and kissed her cheek without her ever being the wiser. Thereby satisfying his need to touch her without offending her strong desire not to be touched. Or more accurately, not to be touched by him.

Sesshoumaru felt sharp jabs in his chest at this recollection. Why did it pain him so? How could such a lowly creature cause him to feel anything? And why did he find himself suddenly wishing she were as human as she appeared? Could it be he was no longer disgusted by Aki's humanity as he was originally, or had he simply discarded his hatred of humans thereby dissolving the issue completely? Argh! He was confused. And Tired.

There was a closed door down the hall from Aki's room and before the living room. No one had as yet shown him what was inside, but Sesshoumaru knew there was a room there. The door moved too much to be just a closet.

Beyond this mysterious door was a small room filled from ceiling to floor with picture frames. The only spaces not filled by shiny darkened glass was the space on the wall behind the over stuffed couch and end table. A breeze stirred the lacey curtains on the single window in the room allowing more light from the street to stain the mostly white room.

The inu youkai caught a glimpse of what stared out of those frames. Nearly every frame housed a picture of two or more humans smiling at the photographer. His eyes widened as he realized the shear volume of different mortals displayed on the walls, a number that was all the larger as almost none of the individuals appeared in more than one picture. The sole exception being the image of one girl at varying ages that seemed to be always on the edges of the picture. Despite that he recognized her, he recognized that little girl in the soul of the female he wanted as mate.

"All dead," he growled softly taking in the magnitude of her loss for the first time. Turning his back on the pain radiating from the walls, he scrutinized his choices for bed. The couch looked comfortable enough, then again so did the carpet. Course the only place he really wanted to sleep was completely off limits at the moment. Couch it is.

He sat on the floral print, over-stuffed piece of furniture immediately distrustful of its exaggerated cushiness. Was it trying to devour him? The demon lord was about to remove himself from the clutches of the evil sofa when he suddenly realized all was not right.

Sesshoumaru stilled as he gazed about the room taking in the image before him. Everything was washed with blues and grays, as all night scenes should be – except Sesshoumaru's night vision was normally acute enough to discern more colours than that. Something was definitely not right.

Before he could deliberate further a gust of wind whipped the curtains forcefully away from the wall drawing his attention to the frame directly across from his now standing position in front of the couch. It was empty of glass and contained a rectangular handicraft that looked as though a small child could've made it. It portrayed a short two-lined saying and a cup half full of some dark liquid.

The taiyoukai was surprised he understood what was written there. He even voiced it quietly aloud in his surprise. "My cup runneth over." His eyes widened as the liquid in the cup began to swell slowly filling the cup as if triggered by his words.

Just as the liquid reached the lip of the cup, something upset it and the liquid rushed out of the now fallen cup. The fluid spilled to the bottom edge of the frame before dripping over it to splash on the carpeted floor.

Wait, splash? It shouldn't splash; it should absorb into the carpet unless it was already filled to saturation.

Sesshoumaru's eyes followed the dripping path to the floor to find a puddle there, a growing puddle that was the only color in the room that wasn't blue or gray. It was red, an ominous, foreboding splash of crimson that he couldn't tear his attention from.

The youkai lord was on the move before he even realized it, following the river of what could only be blood. He stepped into the hallway and followed the path of red with his eyes. Fear struck him as he realized it lead to the only bedroom in the apartment. He was through the door before he even realized it was closed. There she was lying peaceful as death in a veritable lake of blood. He fell to his knees in the still warm puddle, causing it to splash soundlessly in all directions. A single crimson droplet fell upon her beautiful face. He reached out to wipe it away and succeeded in only smearing the stain to cover more of her features. He growled and dropped his bloodied hand in the liquid filled with her stolen warmth.

Not quite sure why, Sesshoumaru lifted his scarlet stained hand to his lips and licked the metallic blood from his claws and swallowed. Suddenly his ears were filled with the sounds of her screaming. It staggered him, threw him back so that he fell to the bottomless fathoms of that pool of blood.

And abruptly he was awake; in the room, on the couch. His heart beating wildly from adrenaline. And he was scared.

He didn't remember removing his shirt. He didn't remember lying down. He looked across the room sharply, desperately seeking out that cup and phrase and found it missing. His heart still refused to slow; his fear could not be assuaged.

Sesshoumaru was immediately on his feet and down the hall. To hell with stopping at the door, he wouldn't have been satisfied just watching her breathe even if he had been calm enough to stand there and watch.

He was suddenly wrapping his arms around Aki on her bed. Clutching her tightly as he buried his head against her back desperately inhaling her scent searching for the stain of death.

It took a while for his brain to acknowledge the lively beat of her precious heart, the healthy scent wafting from her hair, in short it took him a while to realize she wasn't dead. By then, he found his eyes leaking from his overwhelming relief and residual fear. If he stopped to think about it, he would have been disgusted by his violent reaction to something that wasn't real. And still his ears refused to cease their constant ringing.

Sesshoumaru shook his head and pressed himself more firmly to Aki's back.

Aki lay there quietly in awe. Was the great Sesshoumaru actually crying? She was stunned. Of course her mental vertigo wasn't helped by the fact the only thing saving her from having the life squeezed from her body was an old teddy bear. She suspected she knew what had affected him in this way, but didn't say anything. There would be time for that later. Now she just had to let him impress upon himself that she wasn't dead.

Aki would have turned around and held him, rocked him as he cried, but he held her too tightly for such movement. Instead she squeezed his arm gently, rubbing it soothingly where it fell across her front.

Aki paused momentarily to question her own motives. Why did she want to comfort him? Then she thought of Azusa and Inuyasha, of Sango and Kagura. She could no sooner turn a cold shoulder to someone's tears and frustrations than she could grow a second head. Satisfied that her actions were because of this and nothing more, she allowed the soothing growl lodged in her chest to reach Sesshoumaru's very sensitive pointed ears.

Eventually the inu youkai's hold was relaxed, allowing Aki to breathe more easily. Not long afterward his even breathing and soothing warmth coaxed her back into the dimensionless world of sweet slumber.


	4. The Stain On the Wall

Tah-Dah! Another Wednesday another chapter! And I also don't have to work today!

I probably should have said something last week, but I have to take this big GRE thing in a little over a month. I need to study. Study, study, study! Because this exam decides which masters programs I can enroll in. YAY, grad school! unfortunately every free moment I was spending on writing the next parts of this fic... So yeah, once I regain my self-descipline, my fic writing will quite possibly slow down a great deal, but you were warned of a big break coming up anyway. It's too bad though. I finally figured out what I wanted to do with part 5. (part 6 and part 7 were very clear from the start, but this part, while necessary hadn't really been hashed out in my head. Now it is). I'll give you a sneak peek though... STUFF HAPPENS! Isn't that awesome? Bet you can't wait! HAhaha, yeah, that's about all I'm saying. THHHBBBBTTTT!

OH and we can't forget the evils of work getting in the way of my studying and writing. But then again, if I wasn't working, I'd probably put off studying until the last minute. A very bad idea when I have four years of Chemistry to brush up on after a full year's absence from school. I wish I could remember where my text books got stashed in the storage barn... There's at least two branches of chemistry I'd like to reread, but I only have my notes out right now... It'll have to do. I'm going to rewrite them out by hand. It's how I used to study for exams in college. Go back through and rewrite everything.

I bet Rumiko TAkahashi doesn't have this problem, heh, Sesshoumaru probably just curls up in her lap like a big puppy begging for attention everytime she leaves him out of the story for too long. HAh! TAke that embarrassing mental image, Sesshoumaru!

**The Stain on the Wall**

A loud and painful thump knocked Aki out of dreamland and she sat up blinking in a pool of sunlight on the carpet next to her bed. She struggled to figure out how on earth she had managed to wind up there. She _never_ fell out of bed, not even when she was a kid. Why had she now?

The confused woman turned to look at the bed she should still be on and found the culprit. There in all his slumbering glory was the worst bed hog she had ever encountered. She rolled her eyes in righteous annoyance.

Oh well, when you're up, you're up. Aki yawned hugely before pulling herself up off the floor. Time to wash the salt off her face, but first. Aki picked up the well-loved stuffed animal that had broken her fall and smiled warmly at it. She silently apologized for landing on it before her eyes flicked to sleeping beauty.

His face was still stained with last night's tears and he whimpered slightly at the scarcity of her scent. She sighed quietly and tucked the teddy bear in beside him. The little brown stuffy was immediately seized upon and wrapped in the unconscious demon's bone crushing embrace.

Aki nearly giggled at the sight, where was a camera when you needed one? There was the oh-so-great demon lord of the west clinging to her old teddy bear like it was a lifeline. It was so totally a Kodak moment. She shook her head without making a sound. No need to wake him up now.

Aki padded softly over to the open door of the bathroom. She lifted her arms over her head for a good stretch of her lethargic muscles and winced as the wound on her shoulder protested wetly. A crease marred her face as she contemplated the sensation. Surely the bleeding had stopped by now.

She promptly moved to the sink, leaving the door open to avoid having to use the bathroom lights. Aki grabbed a washcloth and turned on the tap to wet it. She refused to look in the mirror until she had washed the evidence of her tears from her face. She already knew she looked like hell, no need to confirm it.

Aki scrubbed lightly at her face, wanting to remove evidence of last nights bought of tears, but not really caring to remove a layer of skin with them. She felt something too warm and thick for water trickle down the back of her arm.

She lifted her arm and watched as one crimson drop fell from her elbow into the previously clean sink. "Huh," she expelled all her breath at once as she frowned in confusion. What the hell?

Aki turned in the mirror and stretched her neck to look at the bandaged wound. It appeared that she had bled all night going based on the blood filled gauze on her shoulder. It didn't make sense the wound was shallow. She reached up and began prying the totally gross bandage from her shoulder. "Damn medical tape!" she muttered under her breath as her body settled into a more comfortable position.

It shouldn't still be bleeding. That's what bugged her. It was shallow and small, hardly worth the bandage. Even if she were human it should've stopped bleeding long before now. Hell, she'd gotten worse riding her bike as a kid. She growled softly as the bottom corner closest to her spine decided to be difficult.

Suddenly a warm hand gripped her shoulder and Aki jumped in surprise. She closed her eyes and placed a hand over her painfully palpitating heart. "Jesus Sess! You scared the crud out of me!" She huffed through her startled panting.

He handed her the now completely removed soiled bandage. She quickly threw it away and grabbed up the damp washcloth to scrub away the excess blood on her shoulder. Sesshoumaru took the rag from her firmly and gently washed her shoulder.

Aki huffed and rolled her eyes again. She hadn't even left her apartment yet and already she wasn't allowed to be tougher than glass.

The inu youkai behind her was silently assessing the wound on her should while he secretly stole relaxing breaths of her scent. "How did you get this?" he asked quietly.

She rolled her eyes again. "You know me, can't seem to stay," and she hissed as Sesshoumaru cleaned and especially painful spot, "out of trouble."

"I didn't ask why, I asked how," he returned quietly, beginning to clean the wound itself.

She closed her eyes as he watched her facial expression in the mirror. "Lets just say Naraku had a new toy for me to play with." His grip tightened visibly on the rag in his hand.

He felt like yelling at her, reprimanding her for allowing it to happen, for not waiting for him. "It should not have happened."

Aki grinned opening her eyes knowing what he really meant. "Even if you locked me up in your family's home, I'd still pick up a few bumps and bruises. Besides," she tilted her head to look at him, consideringly in the mirror, "It's too late to protect me from the world." She watched as he tried to sneak a glance at her in the mirror out of the corner of his eye. She sighed, "What are you doing here Sesshoumaru?"

"I'm cleaning this wound," was his cagey response.

Aki rolled her eye, "no, Sesshoumaru. What are _you_ doing _here_ on this side of the well, in my apartment? I'm not your mate. I'm not the mother of your children. I'm not even your friend. So why are you here?"

Sesshoumaru snarled and his fingers gripped her shoulder tightly. He felt like digging his claws into the wound he had been inspecting. "Damn it, Woman! The only reason you are not my marked mate is because of the accident of some spell and your refusal to see reason and allow me to mark you again."

"What is it with the male half of any species! You don't want me; you want a powerful mate. Here's a news flash for you stupid! There are more powerful females waiting out there, go find one!"

"I don't need to find one, I've found one," he stated with finality.

"Stubbornness must run in your family," Aki grumbled and rolled her eyes. The almost demon attempted to step away to retrieve some bandages, but the dog demon wasn't having any of that. "Would you kindly release me!" she spat out through gritted teeth.

"I'm trying to see something," Sesshoumaru informed her without letting go.

"What is there to see? It's a four-inch cut on the back of my shoulder. It's not something to worry about!"

"Except that it will not stop bleeding," he reminded her sniffing the wound.

"Well, yeah there is that," she admitted, "but it hasn't killed me yet."

"It is my goal to negate the possibility that it might," he informed her without pausing his examination. He continued to sniff the wound, checking for anything that might be the cause of this wound not closing properly.

"Are you done yet?" Aki fidgeted, getting impatient with the youkai lord behind her. "I really do have stuff to do today."

"You're not doing anything until we get this taken care of," Sesshoumaru stated firmly.

"You do not want to attempt to stop me, Sesshoumaru. I have a horrible tendency to exert myself whenever I come to an obstacle in my way. I'm sure Loki's already told you what would happen if I were to exert myself wearing these," she lifted up one arm fingering the bracelet where Sesshoumaru could see. She locked eyes with his reflection and he growled. "Don't push me Sesshoumaru, my time here is short. This isn't a vacation for me. I'm working, mind you it is mostly mental, but it is work all the same."

Sesshoumaru broke from her reflected gaze. He'd suddenly remembered a possible reason her wound wouldn't close. There was a special anti-coagulant imbedded in the claws of a very rare species of youkai. In actuality the species was considered extinct, had been since before his time. The only reason he knew about it was because he'd been an avid reader when he was younger. If it was written, legible and hadn't been assigned by his tutor, he read it, much to the annoyance _of_ his tutor.

He narrowed his eyes as he sniffed the wound. Now what did the text say about the scent of it? That it smelled like…wet silk! Lucky for him Aki wasn't wearing silk, so it would be relatively easy to detect the chemical, if in fact it was the reason behind her still bleeding wound.

"You look like you've had an epiphany," Aki commented dryly, watching him in the mirror.

"It isn't infected or poisoned and you're not physically ill," the youkai lord stated. She simply nodded having already known that much. "Which drastically narrows down what it could be. If I were anyone else, there likely would not be any other known alternative to those three to create symptoms such as this."

"But you're not someone else and you have an idea as to what it could possibly be," Aki remarked baldly.

Sesshoumaru nodded, "There is a specific species of youkai that could produce a fluid in their claws that would prevent a wound from closing. They are extremely rare and have been considered extinct for several centuries. The only reason I even know of them is due to the extensive library my father owned when I was young."

"All right," she nodded again. "So is that what my problem is and how do we combat the effects? Does it affect only the wound area or the entire blood stream? Will it wear off?"

Sesshoumaru blinked. She had marvelously grasped the situation calmly and considered different aspects of it very quickly. "It appears that it is the source of your problem," he stated simply. "As to curing this ailment, I can think of two options."

She nodded for him to continue. "The first is that I could mark you and our combined strength would overcome the problem." She shook her head firmly and he mentally frowned, "Or I could lick the wound clean, most youkai of the canine or feline variety have a coagulant in their saliva."

She rolled her eyes, "Possible side affects?" Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm not stupid Sesshoumaru, I know youkai. There are always strings attached. Even Inuyasha does it, though he probably doesn't realize it."

He grumbled darkly under his breath before locking his eyes with hers in the mirror. "This sort of healing is usually performed on oneself or by one's mate. There is a reason for this." Aki glanced over her should at him. "They don't call it blood lust for nothing. You either kill after the taste of blood or direct these energies down another path."

Aki shook her head again, "Neither sounds like something I wanna do today, and I'd like a second opinion. They might be able to come up with some ideas that don't have to involve sex," she shrugged, reached for the bandages, scissors and tape before turning to face him. "You might want to take a shower, it might make you feel better. Besides, it'll help remove the salt and sweat. I'll see what clothing I can get Loki to scrounge up before he comes over."

She stepped around him to the bathtub and closed the shower curtain. The tap started with a groan of old pipes.

Sesshoumaru grabbed her around the waist and yanked her as far away from whatever it was that made the noise as possible. "What was that?" he growled ignoring the running water for the moment.

Aki sighed. "That was the water moving in the pipes. It's a regular occurrence with indoor plumbing in a building this old. It won't jump out of the wall and get me, I promise. Not let go," she tapped the arm wrapped protectively around her waist.

He didn't want to let go, it seemed every time he did something bad happened to her. Of course the thing he saw last night coupled with the blood on her shoulder this morning greatly increased his paranoia.

She tapped his arm again to catch the youkai's wandering attention. "I really do need you to let go, I have a lot of things to do," she added reasonably. "I have to call Loki pretty quick if we want to catch him before he leaves his place." His arm tightened around her waist. Aki blinked and sighed. "Fine then, can we at least move to the phone so I can call him while you're glued to me like a second skin?" She felt like screaming in exasperation. It was too early for this over protective thing.

Sesshoumaru stiffened at her request. She was dead set on calling the other male. His instincts didn't like it and if he had been the animal counterpart of his demon there would be no way to convince him to allow it. As he was youkai and not animal, he had enough presence of mind to realize she was contacting Loki on his behalf. He still didn't like it. He liked it even less that she was unmarked and constantly slipping through his fingers. That she would concede to let him hold her while she made this call...

He was no fool. He leaned into her, wrapping his other arm around her to bring her closer. Her scent was stronger this way and he got lost in the perfumes wafting off her hair. Sesshoumaru sighed and nodded in answer to her question.

Aki felt more than saw his acquiescence; it would be kind of hard to miss as close as he was to her right this minute. "All right then, come on," she said determinedly, as if the trek to the phone was some expedition littered with many dangers. "The phone is in the living room. Lets go!"

Long before they reached the hall. Aki dissolved into gales of laughter. It would seem that two people stuck together by the arms of one is more difficult to keep upright than contestants of a three-legged race. Despite the minor pains of running into walls and careening into furniture, Aki was able to find an infinite amount of humor in the whole thing.

Sesshoumaru growled in frustration. In his mind it seemed more like Aki was laughing at _him,_ rather than at _them_. "What is so funny?"

"Can you honestly tell me that you don't find it the least bit amusing that one full demon and one almost full demon can't seem to maintain their footing long enough to get from one room to the next?" she asked, her voice slightly muffled from being so close to the carpet after their last mishap. Now that she mentioned it, it was rather humorous.

Aki managed to turn in his loosened grasp to put her back to the floor. Looking up at the surprised humor in his face, she had to grin. "You need to lighten up, Sesshoumaru. Not everything is personal or a life or death situation."

"Then why does it always seem to be around you?" he asked her gruffly, perfectly content to just hover above her for the moment.

She blinked at him in thought before she dazzled him with a smile. "Maybe it's because I'm cursed and have a severe case of bad luck. Or maybe it's just you."

Sesshoumaru stared at her in amazement. "How do you do that?" he wondered aloud. "How do you brush the threat of death aside with a smile?"

She shook her head at him. "I have yet to brush death aside. That shadow lover hasn't come calling." She smiled at him, "Death never scared me, it was just another part of life, whether it be the end, beginning, middle or just a rocky transition, it simply is. It is not evil, nor unusual and I hold no apprehension for it. Though it seems everybody else does for me," she mumbled the last.

"What do you mean?"

"You saw it, just like everyone else and reacted along the same lines as everyone else. Only two people to see it reacted differently."

"What are you referring to?" he narrowed his eyes slightly in confusion.

"You slept in that room didn't you?" she looked at the door down the hall, absently moving to sit up.

His eyes flickered to the door before returning to her face. Others had experienced the same vision? If it was such a recurring event why did she continue to inhabit this place?

"You're wondering why I don't find somewhere else to live," she glanced at him knowingly. "I already told you, two people reacted differently. I was one of them." His glare demanded further explanation. "You saw the bloody death of a person that means something to you. You were upset by it and felt horror and a little bit of fear right?" He nodded. "I didn't. I was comforted by what I saw."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened in surprise. How could anyone take comfort in a vision of death? Especially a vision of their own death? He was so surprised he didn't get up with Aki as she continued to stand and head towards the phone.

Aki paused with her hand on the phone wondering how long it would take the youkai lord to realize he was sitting in the hallway by himself. Then again, no one could be distracted enough to let a closed door entertain them for long.

The phone rang before she could dial, making Aki jump. She gave a shaky laugh before answering the phone. "Hello," she said softly still wondering about the dog demon in her hallway.

Loki's less than chipper voice greeted her ear, "Morning boss."

"Loki! I was just about to call you," Ai grinned into the phone.

"I guessed as much," her employee grumbled half-heartedly.

"Yeah, I need you to scrounge up some clothes for my stubborn house guest. He's prone to following me around."

"So that's where he went last night. We wondered about that."

"More like Kagome worried about it," Aki corrected dryly. "You were probably too busy trying to cultivate Kaoru's undivided attention to bother."

There was a heavy pause before the other answered with a "You know me too well." Loki took a deep breath to end the subject before continuing, "anyways, the reason I called was to tell you that the twins are busy and can't meet us until tomorrow."

Aki sighed, "All right. I needed to see Mouse today anyway. It'll give me some time to look over the papers you left on the table." She paused in thought, "Just make sure the meeting is set early, I've got the museum of Natural History reserved for the kids tomorrow, they're shutting their doors to the public an hour early for us."

"I got it, I got it!" Loki cried, exasperated. "You'd think I hadn't known for over a month now!" A pregnant silence fell into the conversation, "Why did you need to see Mouse today? You usually wait a day or two."

"Something's com up that I'd like a second opinion on is all," Aki replied cryptically.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the blood Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru scented yesterday, would it?"

Aki didn't answer.

"Fine keep your secrets, It's too early for intrigue you know," Loki sighed. "So how did Mr. Warm-and-Fuzzy find his way home last night?"

"I haven't asked, and I'm not overly concerned about it."

"Which means something else happened after that to capture your attention."

"He…saw the Warning," Aki told him softly.

Loki gasped, "He did? What happened?"

"I don't discuss how you reacted, why would I discuss how he did?" she answered primly.

Loki blushed on his side of the phone; he'd waken up screaming after his Warning and shaken like a leaf on the wind for three days straight. He'd never stayed conscious for so long in his life, and Kaoru had been forced to knock him out to get him to sleep again. "You didn't have to bring that up."

"I didn't, you did when you asked about him," Aki returned easily. She turned slightly to lean against the little table that the phone rested on. Almost immediately she gasped in surprise. "Really Sesshoumaru, you need to quit sneaking up on people!"

Loki burst out in surprised laughter on the other side of the phone. "You may be all demon prowess on the other side of the well, but here you're about as observant as a newborn kitten."

"Yeah well," Aki growled at the glowering youkai in front of her. "I'm home, I shouldn't have to worry about being super observant."

"You left me in the hallway," Sesshoumaru accused her.

"You let go, finally," Aki returned.

"Huh? Wha-?" Loki inquired suddenly confused. "Aki what's going on?"

"I'm trying to conduct two conversations at once and failing," she grumbled in response.

Loki chuckled, "Alright then, I'll let you concentrate on the more important conversation. Be there in about an hour."

"Loki!" Aki began concentrating on the phone.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" he laughed and hung up.

Aki glared at the innocently beeping phone. "I swear he gets a kick out of teasing me when I can't retaliate," she muttered.

Her discontented tone was drowned out by the deeper growl emanating from the taiyoukai in front of her. Sesshoumaru was now quite angry at the female before him. Not only had she just left him in the hallway, but she had left to speak with another male. And then she ignored him to continue speaking with this other male. It wasn't a rational anger. It was primitive. It didn't care that the conversation was partially for his benefit. It didn't care that they had been moving in this direction for this very reason before he'd been side-tracked and Aki had slipped away. Her behavior was unforgivable and Logic wasn't even trying to reason with the anger.

"Well, that was Loki. He says he'll be here in an hour with clothes for you," Aki nearly squeaked in surprise when she suddenly found herself pinned against the nearest wall some distance above the floor. She snorted to herself, "Men."

"You left me to talk to Loki," his anger accused.

"No, you let me make a phone call to get you some clothes. You were also deep in thought and staring at a closed door. An activity I'm pretty sure did not require my participation," Aki told him smartly. She didn't care how insecure Sesshoumaru was feeling at the moment. She was tired of this behavior already, but then, she might just have been tired of everything to begin with.

His fingers started to dig into the flesh of her arm. "You need ot learn not to run off at the first opportunity." He was tired of feeling like she would disappear the minute he let her out of his sight. It didn't help that every time he _did_ let her out of his sight she almost always took off.

She rolled her eyes, "I haven't even left the apartment yet! Besides nobody has the right to tell me when I can and can't go somewhere!"

Sesshoumaru lifted her up and away from the wall only to slam her back against it painfully. Aki, being the stubborn creature she is, refused to give evidence of any discomfort.

"If you crack the walls or in any other way damage my apartment, you may very well find yourself incapable of siring offspring for a very long time," she growled softly at the youkai before her.

HE snarled back at her. some coldly logical piece of his brain wondered at his own behavior. Why was he so angry? Sure he felt the need to prove his dominance over Aki, but it didn't necessarily require violence. Sesshoumaru knew Aki would not crumble to any threat or punishment involving pain. If she was susceptible to such inducements she never would have lived long enough to meet him, let alone mate him.

The last partial thought struck him like a bucket of cold rational water. AS strong as Aki was, she was still very mortal. She might be tougher than glass as she was wont to point out, but even the toughest of substances can crumble under the proper stress.

Sesshoumaru sighed and leaned into the body he had pressed to the wall. He absently licked at the flawless skin where his mark used to be and felt the strong urge to cry. It hurt so much to have no official claim on the female before him, to have her with in reach and know that she wouldn't have him. His pride had been wounded, but that wasn't what stung the most. If he was truly honest with himself, he was jealous of Fred and all the others Aki had ever cared about. Sesshoumaru imagined having just a tiny piece of her heart was more than worth any horrible death fate could come up with.

"Sesshoumaru?" Aki called quietly as the inu youkai tried to press closer. She could feel him breathing in her scent and fought her own desire to do the same. The warm flick of his tongue on her shoulder did delicious things to her senses. She felt like melting, answering the call he so deftly tapped out on her skin.

Her eyes widened, somewhere, some time in the last month her body had betrayer her. Sesshoumaru had somehow managed to condition her like Pavlov's dog. Her body's response to his ministrations was nothing more than a dog trick commanded by caressing a mark that was no longer there.

Aki silently screamed at herself in frustration. Her body belonged to no one but herself. She would not allow her life to be controlled by anyone least of all a demon lord who was already convinced she belonged to him. She could break the conditioning and she would.

But first she needed to remove the taiyoukai holding her against the wall. "Sesshoumaru, knock it off and put me down!" Aki demanded firmly. She believed in talking before violence. But she was also annoyed enough that when he ignored her she felt no remorse in taking action, and there was one action she could take that she was at a distinct advantage to take being held above the floor as she was.

Sesshoumaru's hand convulsed momentarily on her arms before abruptly letting go as his body instinctively curled around his abused groin. He was definitely not a happy camper.

"Sorry Sesshoumaru, but I did tell you to put me down," Aki informed him, refusing to feel guilty about enforcing her independence. "You need to learn to let me live my life my way. Why won't you find someone else? I obviously don't know the rules, and even if I did I'd be horrible at following them. Besides, I'm not interested."

Sesshoumaru snarled at her, but kept the rest of what he wanted to say to himself. She wasn't going to listen to him, and it was very unlikely he'd be able to say anything without worsening the situation. Not when pain was continually exploding through his body.

Aki sighed and pushed away from him. Time to start the day. She glanced at the wall to find a bright smudge there. "Oh boy, I guess I get o clean that up too," she sighed tiredly, before heading to her bedroom. She groaned at the rather large number of small red stains. "I've got my work cut out for me."

She shut the door and quickly got dressed for the day, wound included. Aki then collected a wet rag and some soap and headed straight for the first crimson stain in her room.

Just as she got to the rather large stain on the carpet in the hallway, there came a pounding at the door. "Inuyasha," she groaned as she pushed off the floor. No person born in this century would continue to pound incessantly unless it was an emergency, Aki ran to the front door before the hanyou could knock it off the hinges.

"You don't have to pound constantly on the door you know," she scolded the dog boy revealed by the open door.

"Feh!" came Inuyasha's witty comeback.

"Ah yes, I'm stayed by the extreme power of the monosyllabic comebacks of one juvenile sword wielder," Aki grumbled.

"Mono-whatsis?" Inuyasha inquired.

"Don't try to figure it out, you'd only hurt yourself," Sesshoumaru stated in a condescending tone. He'd never been so happy to see his annoying younger brother; he now had somebody to direct his anger and frustration at besides Aki.

"What was that?" Inuyasha glared suspiciously at his older sibling. "Did you just imply I'm stupid?"

"If that's what it sounded like.."

"I don't have to put up with this shit from you!"

"What are you going to do about it?"

Inuyasha growled and clenched his fist ready for the first punch.

"Don't even think about fighting in this apartment! If so much as one punch is thrown you'll both find yourselves thrown out that window to the pavement below before you know what hit you! I don't care who throws it! Do you understand?" The last was more of a demand for a response than a question. Her gaze swung from one brother to the other. "Now one of you sit here and one of you sit there and I don't want to hear another peep out of either of you until I say so!"

And with that Sesshoumaru was seated on the couch and Inuyasha sat glowering from the chair by the door. "I swear you two are worse than children," she grumbled under her breath as she returned to the stained carpet in the hallway.

The ever-observant Inuyasha couldn't help but notice the red splotch left on the almost white wall next to the phone at the far end of the couch. He sniffed delicately to confirm his suspicions. Yep, it was blood. And as many times as Inuyasha had come in contact with walls, bodily or otherwise, he knew that walls don't bleed.

Since the wall didn't bleed, that meant someone else did. He knew that Aki had been bleeding the night before and it was conceivable that if she wasn't still bleeding that whatever wound could have been reopened. All he knew for sure was that it wasn't Sesshoumaru's and that it was fresh.

But the blood was too high up for Aki to have left it there simply by leaning against the wall. Which meant Sesshoumaru had been misbehaving and was in need of some serious punishment.

Inuyasha glared at the full demon, began to crack his knuckles and growled absently declaring an intent to wallop the older male.

The dog boy suddenly found his vision full of soapy wet rag. "I said not a peep!" Aki growled at him, retrieving her rag. "That means not a sound!" she clarified for the exceedingly stupid. Wet rag now in hand, she attacked the stain on the wall.

Sesshoumaru decided to take advantage of the opportunity presented by a visible Aki within reach. He reached out with a half formed idea of some minor revenge for his previous pain only to find his hand stinging smartly from the defensive swat of her hand.

Inuyasha broke out in a grin, his eyes shiny with suppressed laughter. Perhaps Aki had the demon Lord situation completely under control all by herself. Said taiyoukai quickly picked up on his younger sibling's mirth at his expense.

Sesshoumaru snarled and leapt to his feet and Inuyasha mirrored him ready to defend himself. "SIT DOWN!" Aki yelled sternly, startling the both of them. Inuyasha laid his ears back and winced. Aki's eyes glittered angrily at the both of them. The boys slowly sat back down, pushed by the shear weight of her glare.

Someone knocked on the door suddenly causing Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha to jump. Aki answered the door panting heavily, hands shaking. "Hello Loki," Aki managed to get out between short breaths.

"Whoa! Boss lady!" Loki's eyes widened in alarm as Aki leaned heavily against the opened door and began to slide down it. He immediately reacted and kneeled to pick her up. "Shh, Aki. Loki's got you. All you have to do is try to breath with me. All right? Just breath with me. In and out. In and out," his voice was soft and soothing, giving Aki something to focus on as he picked her up gently. She closed her eyes and concentrated on controlling her breathing.


	5. Shocking REality

Oh! I'm so tired! I worked the last 6 days straight, but it's all good. This weekend I have 3 days off-in a row! That's like never happened! Ah sweet joy... And I'll probably study the whole time. Oh well.

There seemed to be some confusion as to why Aki would be having breathing problems in the last chapter. Well, think of it as a rather unique form of asthma. Aki's Miko powers, which always has a tendency to burn her skin when she uses them, are constantly working to purify the air she breathes. Part of this is done externally of course, but just like everyone else, Aki's powers use several defensive positions to clean and purify the air. Most of our (normal human) air filters are internal, located in the nose and upper respiratory tract, i.e. right before the air enters the air sacs of the lungs. Now image Aki's body using miko energies in this very important and somewhat sensitive internal area. Talk about inflammation, irritated by exertion or stress. Seriously, I thought about this. And I did try to explain it in the fic in more general terms by way of Loki and Kaoru about 2 or 3 chapters ago. Throw in that Aki is constantly exhausted and she's a complete medical nightmare. Even demons have their problems, Aki just has more of them apparently. I told you I'm evil! (Please note, I am not an anatomy student nor a biology major or anything like that. I just pick this stuff up and remember it!)

I'd like to take this oppurtunity to mention my one and only wonderfuly faithful reviewer, who (I've learned) has done a little bit of advertising for this fic on the side. You so ROCK! I hope this explanation is a bit more informative than the last one I sent you... I was kind of trying to do two things at once, sorry. (Happens when you have two little brothers that do things like scouts 'n stuff. Humph their noisy too!) I'm glad you finally found this fic, heheh. I was pretty surprised when this fic went months without a review but my other fic snagged 5 on the first day it was posted... Weird!

But at least Rumiko TAkahashi is a fan... or she would be until she realized just what kinds of torture I put her characters through. Seriously, I'm glad she's too busy to check up on them since I leased them...

We see more of that contension between Loki and Sesshoumaru, get used to it. Loki's set himself up as Aki's main protector on this side of the well and You just gotta know that's going to conflict with Sesshoumaru's view of things. Heeheehee! Oh so evil!

Oh and Sesshoumaru gets nekkid in this chapter! Woo!

**Shocking Reality **

In less time than one might think, Aki managed to get her breathing back to normal. Of course having such an attack in the open doorway to you apartment wasn't normal, even for Aki.

"Okay, so what brought this on?" Loki asked quite concerned. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love having damsels in distress fall right into my arms as soon as they see me, but it's unusual for you to have one of these fits this early in your visit."

Aki sighted, "I know, I know. It probably wouldn't have happened if Kagome didn't have school today."

Loki lowered his eyebrows in confusion as he managed to lift both himself and Aki off the ground without dropping her. He carried her beyond the door and caught his first glimpse of what lie in wait beyond it. "Ah!" was his vocalization of enlightenment. There sat glaring at him, the inu brothers. "Well that does explain it."

"I thought it might," Aki replied, pointedly ignoring the demons of her living room

Loki chuckled as he shut the door with his foot. "I'll do my best to remain part of the solution and not the problem," he smiled wryly. "But first, lets get you cleaned up."

Aki nodded dully, it wasn't like she could have done anything against it if she wanted to. She was still shaking so hard she couldn't have propelled herself under her own power had she wanted to.

"I take it you've been teaching them the rules of time out?" Loki asked with amusement.

"More like teaching them not to press me when I'm on my own turf," she sighed tiredly. "I really hate when people disrespect me by damaging or threatening to damage my stuff without a thought."

"Must be a girl thing," the gang leader commented while placing her on the counter next to the kitchen sink.

Aki half-smiled at him and nodded slowly. "That's probably true."

"So tell me, what are the boys in trouble for and what are the terms of their time out?" Loki handed her a damp rag to wash her bleeding and raw lip.

Aki winced as the rough rag rubbed against the sensitive flesh she'd bitten during her fit earlier. "Well, at the moment they're both _supposed_ to be _sitting_ down and not making any noise." She said sensing the inu brothers weren't exactly following her orders right then. "I'm trying to prevent their overly volatile fraternal relationship from damaging my apartment. They can't seem to remember they're in time out for more than five minutes."

Loki almost laughed when her intuition was able to pick up on the brothers' lapse in behavior. "I see. Well then, to keep you from throwing yourself into another unhealthy episode, I promise to help maintain the lord and his younger brother-"

"HALF brother!" came from the living room.

Aki sighed and gave Loki a speaking look.

He chuckled and squeezed her hand. "Relax, I don't think they'll give us too much trouble after your collapse in the doorway." He brushed her hair from her face. "Like it or not, you worry them. The one will be overly protective of you for the rest of his life and the other will protect you for the rest of yours."

"Ah, but which one is which and to what purpose?" Aki grumbled rubbing her temple. "Loki I have a favor to ask." He raised an eyebrow at her, encouraging her to continue. "Could you take those two and show them how to use the shower?"

Loki grinned teasingly at her, "What? Are you too embarrassed to do it yourself?"

Aki snorted, "No, in fact I already tried once. I didn't get past turning the water on before Sesshoumaru had me across the room worried something was going to burst through the walls and get me," she rolled her eyes.

He chuckled at the thought, "I told you those pipes need some work."

Aki shook her head, "I like them the way they are. They don't leak, aren't clogged and don't fill the water full of rust and dirt. If it ain't broke, Loki, don't fix it."

It was his turn to roll his eyes before letting the subject drop. "All right then. So where's this bleeding wound I keep hearing about?"

"Under my shirt," she answered with a shrug.

Loki blinked, "Which means I don't get to take a look at it." There came a couple angry growls from the living room.

"I would say that's a fairly wise assessment," Aki nodded congenially. She slid off the counter, absently licking the dried blood from her lip.

"Okay fine, how about those bruises?"

Aki blinked at him and then looked down to where he was pointing. Each of her arms was sporting five brilliantly purple claw and finger shaped bruises. She closed her eyes and imagined her back was pretty colorful too. "Somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," she sighed. Aki smiled ruefully, "I think I'm looking forward to seeing Mouse today."

"Only because she'll take him to task for every mark he caused," Loki frowned.

"Yep!"

"You do remember she's not as gentle when she's fuming and ready to chew people out, right?"

"Loki."

"What?"

"Stop worrying. She's not going to hurt me, and since I can't get him for it myself while I'm here, I'm going to enjoy watching her do it." Aki smirked sadistically.

"I'm not saying he doesn't deserve it, I'm saying you don't," Loki refused to let it drop.

"It's a necessary evil. Besides, I've lived through worse than bruises, scratches and poisoning if either of the two in my living room cared to remember," Aki raised her voice slightly to ensure they heard her.

"What'd I miss?" Loki demanded.

Aki shook her head, "Tell you later. First, they could really use a shower, Loki."

"I'm on it," Loki sighed and marched into the living room. "Alright boys, I, your trustworthy sensei, Loki have been given the task of instructing one Sesshoumaru and one Inuyasha in the proper grooming practices expected of modern day society."

Inuyasha snorted, "What could you possibly be able to teach us? How to look like a pansy?"

Sesshoumaru just awarded Loki his best "you are not worthy of my time" look.

"Fine if you're going to be rude, then I'm going to be rude. You guys stink! You could both do with a good scrubbing. Or rather you both seriously need a shower if you're going to follow Aki around all day. In case neither of you noticed, both Kagome and Aki are sticklers for being clean."

Sesshoumaru blinked, the boy did have a point. Damn. And now that he thought about it, he'd brought this on himself. He could have had the happy pleasure of Aki instructing him in this particular matter, but he'd overreacted and refused to let go. That and Inuyasha had shown up. He felt like rubbing his temple to soothe the headache building behind it. "All right, teach," the demon lord grit his teeth unhappily.

Inuyasha's mouth hung open mid-protest.

Loki grinned triumphantly and retrieved the bags from the hall out side the apartment. "Follow me then," the gang leader paused as he remembered something. "Oh and Aki?"

"Yeah," she called from the kitchen.

"Kaoru's stopping by in a few. She wanted to buy you breakfast in apology for last night," he informed her.

"She didn't have to do that," Aki came grumbling into view.

Both brothers looked surprised to see Aki looking and acting so normal so soon after her collapse. All evidence of the heart-stopping event had been washed away completely with the only reminder being her sorely abused lip.

"Aki, you okay?" Inuyasha asked with concern.

She smiled at him carefully, "I'm fine."

"Actually Kaoru's going all out on breakfast, partly because she wants to and partly because I told her she needed to apologize," Loki enlightened her.

"Geez, Loki. Way to take the sincerity out of it." She scoffed. "And really, if anyone should apologize it should be me. I said a few things I shouldn't have."

"You did nothing unwarranted," Sesshoumaru said firmly. "You had informed her previously to cease her actions towards 'setting you up.' She chose not to listen."

"I still shouldn't have said what I did!" Aki retorted. "Two wrongs do not make a right!"

"If you really feel the need, you can apologize when she gets here with breakfast," Loki sighed, completely ignoring the confused looks on the inu brothers' faces after Aki's last words.

"She has nothing to apologize for," Sesshoumaru insisted.

"How can I just apologize when she's going to all the trouble of buying breakfast?" Aki asked, not bothering with the taiyoukai's words.

"You know the whole female system of reciprocity and blame-share never made a lot of sense to me. Besides, she's got a lot more to apologize for," Loki shrugged. "And anyways, it's not like she's doing this completely on her own, Tuck's coming with her."

"Oh, well that's okay then," Aki smiled and winced in pain as the action tugged on her sore lip painfully. "Going to have to remember not to smile much today," she licked her lip absently.

Sesshoumaru reached out and cupped her chin in his hand, studiously peering down into her face. He brushed a gentle thumb over her bloodied lip. In that moment the great taiyoukai wanted nothing more than to sweep his legendary control over her and whisk her away to the safe quiet interior of his home in the past. He'd best control the urge before Aki noticed it. Especially that rather lusty idea of leaning forward and attempting to heal it

"Don't even think about it!" Aki growled softly. Apparently he hadn't hidden the idea forming in his mind quick enough. "One little bitty split lip is hardly life threatening. Now go get cleaned up!"

"Right-o guys, to the bathroom!" and Loki lead the charge down the hall followed sulkily by Inuyasha.

"Well? What are you still standing there for?" Aki raised an eyebrow questioningly at the sole occupant of the space just outside her kitchen.

"What will you be doing?" Sesshoumaru demanded.

Aki blinked, "You know, you're more paranoid about my whereabouts than my dad ever was. And he had me when I really couldn't take care of myself."

Still the inu youkai waited for his answer.

"Fine. I'll most likely be looking over the papers Loki left me in the kitchen until Kaoru and Tuck arrive. Then they'll probably have me move to the living room while breakfast is getting setup," she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I can't think of a reason for me to leave the apartment." Aki looked up at Sesshoumaru and pursed her lips, "Is that good enough for you?"

He looked down at her pouting up at him and was again amazed that the fragile looking creature that was Aki on this side of the well was the same exotically confusing female that could combat full-blooded youkai on his side of the same well. Magnetically he leaned down to kiss her.

"Don't even think about it!" Aki commanded firmly. Sesshoumaru whined just loud enough for her to hear. She rolled her eyes, "Sorry puppy, but there just happens to be blood on my lip and you already told me what happens when you taste blood."

He growled softly in protest.

She smiled mischievously up at him. "My previous protestations aside, I really don't think you want your little brother stumbling across us like _that_."

"Quite," he answered softly.

"Good thing you got me around to say no," her eyes twinkled up at him.

"Actually at this moment I could care less who happened across us," Sesshoumaru declared.

"Then it's even better that I won't allow it to happen," she growled back.

Sesshoumaru sighed.

"I think you have something to do," she looked at him pointedly.

He grimaced angrily, baring his teeth in distaste.

"Don't give Loki a hard time or I'll send Kaoru back as soon as she gets here. Maybe you'll get lucky and she'll try to set you up with someone," she teased.

The dog demon growled and pinned her to the wall. "There is only one I want!" His grip was firm yet more gentle than the last time he'd held her against a wall. "You are mine! No one else is allowed to touch you!"

"Pfftt! I belong to no one, nor do I necessarily need or want anyone to 'touch me', stupid!" she defied him.

"Oh?" he raised a delicately arched eyebrow as he slid the hand he didn't need to pin her down over the thin cotton shirt covering her skin. He watched as her eyes widened in alarm as that same hand slipped beneath the shirt to caress the flesh underneath. This time he coldly studied her reaction to him. Her own hands moved to grip his offending arm and push it away, succeeding only in sliding his clawed hand under the waistband of her jeans. She froze upon realizing what she'd done. "Perhaps you do not require the touch of another," he purred softly to her. "And maybe sometimes you do not want it," he allowed his hand to slip a little further south. "But when it happens, you seem to enjoy it." He leaned in to lick her ear while his hand continued to inch along the path to ecstasy.

Her grip on his arm had lost its strength sometime after he'd purred in her ear. Her brain had dissolved in the exhausted white fuzz produced by his demanding touch. "Sesshoumaru stop," she pleaded, her voice breathy and weak. He growled sending vibrations through her body from the path he 'd kissed down to where his mark used to be.

Suddenly the softness of his lip was replaced by the hard firmness of his fang. Aki's eyes widened in panic. Giving up her grip on his arm, she placed both hands on his chest to push him away.

He didn't budge. She didn't have the strength to push him away.

"Sesshoumaru, stop it! Please!" frantic tears slid down her face. He was holding her down with both hands now, the one on her shoulder the other against her abdomen under the cloth of her jeans. It hurt. "Sesshoumaru I can't breathe!" she gasped out.

Then suddenly the pressure was gone and she was free. Not waiting to find out why, Aki flew around the corner into the kitchen to escape.

Loki dragged one angry youkai lord down the hall by the ear. It disgusted him. How anyone could pressure and force a female to give up that which was most sacred was beyond him. He had thought that with Sesshoumaru being a great lord and all he wouldn't have to worry about leaving Aki alone with the male. Guess he'd been wrong.

Inuyasha eyed the pair as they entered Aki's bedroom. Something was going on. "What happened?" he demanded.

"I found our demon lord here trying to take advantage of Aki in the hallway," Loki growled. "He had her pressed against the wall so she couldn't get away. She couldn't breathe you bastard!" He yelled angrily. "I don't care if you kill me for it, I'm not going to allow you or anyone else to take advantage of Aki. Not on my watch you jerk!"

"She couldn't breathe?" Inuyasha growled. No one hurt his sister like that, especially not right after she'd already demonstrated a distinct problem with breathing regularly on her own.

"She was begging for him to let go and gasping for breath," Loki continued finally releasing the demon lord's sensitive ear as he shoved him away.

Inuyasha promptly latched onto Sesshoumaru's other ear and dug his claws in, not caring if he left holes in the skin or not. "What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"She is _mine_! I can do what I like," Sesshoumaru growled irrationally with rage.

Inuyasha squeezed his ear and the taiyoukai yelped in pain. "Listen to me and you listen good. Aki is not a piece of property, nor does she belong to you," he squeezed again to cut off the inevitable protest. "I don't know what you thought you were doing and I don't want to know, but the next time she asks you to let go or that she can't breathe, you damn well better let go or I will seriously kick your ass. And when I'm done, I'm going to do it again. Do you understand? You may want to reclaim her as your mate, but there are ways to go about it and ways not to. Whether you are successful or not I will protect Aki as I would my own sister!"

Loki hmphed, "I personally want to skin you alive for what you've done to her so far. Aki deserves respect and you obviously don't respect her." Loki closed his eyes and exhaled slowly counting to ten. "All right you two, we've got a job to do, lets get it done before I decide to drown the Neanderthal," he glared at Sesshoumaru.

Inuyasha dragged his older sibling into the smaller room by the ear. He kept his firm grip until Loki had shut the sturdy door behind him.

"Lesson one," Loki clapped, "this is the bathroom. This," he motioned to the large basin behind the plastic curtain, "is the bathtub. You bathe in it one of two ways. You can either take a bath or a shower. In our case you guys will be taking a shower." Loki droned in his detached teacher voice. "This turns on the hot water, this turns on the cold and this turns on the shower. There's the soap and the stuff for your hair. Always keep the curtain closed while the water is running and here are a couple towels. Who's first?" he asked over the groan of the pipes as they came sluggishly to life.

Inuyasha, still a little angry with his elder brother, threw the taiyoukai into the water still wearing the pants he'd slept in.

"Actually," Loki said dryly, "You're supposed to remove your clothes first. We have a different way to wash our clothes."

One sopping wet partially dressed Sesshoumaru growled angrily. He hooked his claws in Inuyasha's haori and yanked the hanyou into the water fully dressed.

Loki stood flabbergasted as the two brothers proceeded to fight in the tub. Shaking his head, he simply waited for the inevitable conclusion to any "horse play" ever held in a bathtub. One of them slipped on the slick surface of the bottom of the tub taking out the other so that both wound up entangled in a big angry, slightly stunned heap.

"Now, if you've had quite enough can we please just get this over with," Loki grumbled loudly.

"What the hell are you guys doing in there?" a muffled voice asked from the other side of the door as it was slowly opened. There stood Kaoru in all her commanding and nosy glory. Once she got a good look inside she burst out laughing. "Oh my goodness! I feel like I've just walked in on some poor parent trying to bathe his two kids in the tub!"

"You know, you're not helping anything," Loki gave a long-suffering sigh.

Kaoru blinked and promptly stepped into that militant, motherly role that had worked so well the night before. "All right you two, strip!" she ordered firmly. The two wet dogs blinked at her in surprise. "You heard me! Strip! Or did you want me to do it for you? Place your wet clothes in the sink over there so you don't get Aki's floor all wet."

Inuyasha blushed all the colours of the embarrassed rainbow but didn't move to strip down at all.

Kaoru lifted a devilish pink eyebrow and briskly moved to make good on her threat to disrobe the brothers.

"He-Hey! Back off wench!" Inuyasha's eyes widened in alarm, accidentally landing on Sesshoumaru's spleen as he slipped again in his haste to evade the advancing female.

"Are you going to get undressed on your own now?" the pink haired businesswoman inquired blandly.

"Not with you watching!"

"Oh how adorable, he's shy," Kaoru smiled darkly. "What about you?" her red eyes swung to the demon lord, "Are you shy too?"

Sesshoumaru glared at her menacingly. Carefully he stood up and quickly removed his wet pants, revealing that the Great Demon Lord of the Western Lands was wearing nothing else.

Kaoru's eyes went wide in shock before she turned her back to cover the most amazing shade of red that was staining her face.

Loki glared at the very naked dog demon before shoving him behind the opaque shower curtain. So much for not getting the floor all wet. Loki rolled his eyes as Inuyasha beat a hasty retreat out of the shower still fully clothed.

"So Kaoru, what did you come back here for?" Loki asked softly.

She turned slightly to blink at him for a minute before answering. "When tuck and I got here, nobody answered the door, so I just walked in knowing you were already here. We found Aki in the kitchen," Kaoru paused hesitantly. "She was having one of her breathing fits, you know? She was leaning against the wall on the floor and fighting for breath."

"Damn!" Loki swore softly.

"Tuck was helping her through it because I'm no good at it, so I came to see why no one was with her to help her," Kaoru looked at him significantly.

"How often does she normally have these fits?" Inuyasha asked with worry.

"Usually they don't start up until late on the second day. Then they begin to occur on shorter and shorter intervals. They can also be triggered by stress and fatigue," Loki replied absently.

"So her having a second attack this soon after the other one and this early in the day is unusual?" Inuyasha asked for clarification, this wasn't sounding good.

"What do you mean second attack? Has she already had one this morning?" Kaoru demanded sharply.

"The first was just after I got here," Loki answered her. "Damn she really does need to see Mouse today."

"Who's Mouse?" the hanyou demanded, really not liking how everything in this conversation seemed like part of a code.

"Mouse is Aki's doctor, her healer," Kaoru told him. "She's actually the only youkai healer in the city and most probably the best in the world. We make a point of getting Aki over to her place at least once every visit for a check up."

"The first time we took Aki there, was right after her grandmother's spell was disrupted. It was the only place in the city for a youkai of Aki's caliber to learn everything children are taught before they're too old to practice in the family living room. Aki was too big," Loki explained.

"She was also too powerful for her to practice here before she developed some finesse. The neighbors would notice and the youkai community can't risk that," Kaoru finished for him.

Suddenly everybody's favorite naked demon stepped out of the shower to drip on the bathroom floor. Kaoru fled the room with the excuse to check on Aki and breakfast before she went blind.

"There is a reason people don't run around naked, you arrogant prick, besides there being a law against it," Loki grumbled.

"What? Afraid she might want me instead of you?" Sesshoumaru asked icily.

Loki snorted, "You ain't nothing special. There are hundred's out there with your unique brand of superiority. They're called assholes." The gang leader turned to lead the demon lord into Aki's much dryer bedroom. "Most women try to avoid them like the plague," he commented dryly as he threw a pair of jeans at the dog demon. "Put these on. Wait," he threw a pair of boxers at Sesshoumaru, "put these on first."

The taiyoukai raised a condescending eyebrow at the colorful smiley faces printed on the material. "Do assholes generally wear such…colorful undergarments?" he inquired to cover his immense distaste for being ordered around. Sesshoumaru had to remind himself that he was in a strange place with strange customs and he had sort of given this whelp the right to give him orders within a certain limit.

Loki smirked, "I wouldn't know, I've never been tempted to find out, and I also don't know anybody that has ever been drunk enough to so badly impair their judgment that they would find out either."

"Then why?"

"I didn't really know you were an asshole before, did I? Besides I thought if Aki was ever tempted to find out, she might find them…interesting." She might find them outright hilarious.

The dog demon looked at him slightly suspicious. "Why should I wear these? Are you wearing something similar?"

Loki chuckled mischievously, "Why Sesshoumaru, I didn't know you were into guys that way. If you wanted to see my underwear all you had to do was ask," he teased the inu youkai. "And here I thought it was Aki's body you wanted."

Sesshoumaru growled in disgust while Loki had a laugh at his expense. "In all seriousness, you want to wear them under the jeans. Denim and zippers can be very uncomfortable against some of the more sensitive parts of male anatomy." Sesshoumaru raised his glare from the garment in question to the youth still laughing at him. "Just hurry up and put it on. I have to go make sure dog boy doesn't drown in the tub." And with that, Loki left Sesshoumaru to get dressed.


	6. Over the Edge

la, la, la. Hmm, WEdnesday once more, and I have to work. I'm in the middle of a seven day stretch of work because my manager gave me this last weekend off (unrequested). I find it odd that she pops these crazy off days on me, but I can't ever get the days off I request. As an example, I told you about the GRE I have to take in November, when I requested the day off, she automatically denied it without even looking at the reason why (because the system asks for reasons when you request days). I had to find time out of my busy day to track her down and talk to her about it. AND she knew what I was talking about too. (I mean the part about asking for it off, not the why I needed it.) I'm not even going to try for the other days off I requested so I could visit my friend out of the Country. Too much effort. Besides, I don't really have the money to go. I just wanted to a few days to recoup from the exam, away from my family. Nothing to major.

Hmmph, maybe it's just me, but when an employee makes a reasonable request for time off, far enough in advance to be convenient, I would kind of check out the reasons before denying it out of hand. Especially if this employee has not been late or absent a single time since hiring in, even more so if, in that space of time, nearly every other member of that department has called in or been late at least once. But then, I believe in fairness and being considerate. I guess I'm a dying breed. Customers are inconsiderate and disrespectful, both to the employees that work to gain their business and of the other customers.

It's just a suggestion, but when you shop, don't pick up something unless you intend to buy it. If you decide at a later time you no longer want an item either put it back where it goes or leave it at the register. Don't leave a shirt in with the can goods. Don't leave a ring mixed in with the potting soil. (believe me this crap happens.) Here's a better one: when clothes shopping, if you try on a garment, give the clothing to the attendent, hang it up or fold it up and leave it in the established area outside of the fitting room. Don't leave it on someone else's cart. Don't leave the clothing _inside_ the fitting room. (that is _so_ disrespectful of both the attendant, who should be standing right there and isn't really paid to pick up after your ass, and it is inconsiderate of the next customer that comes along to use that fitting room. Why should they have to put up with your mess?) When picking up an item to give it a closer examination, if you decide you no longer want it, PUT IT BACK ON THE APPROPRIATE SHELF! Really, how are the other customers supposed to find this stuff if you don't?

Sorry about the rant, but everybody at work is tired of both hearing and making these complaints. STore employees are NOT paid to be housekeepers! We're paid to put the merchandise out for customers. We're paid to help you locate what you're looking for, not to be your nurse maid. WE're paid to keep our store looking inviting and clean, which would be a whole lot easier if everybody could remember what respect and being considerate is. It would also help if people would use the skills they learned in school and read the damn signs posted. You would not believe the number of people that walk up to me when I'm standing _in_ the fitting room "Where is the fitting rooming?" Or "how many items are allowed" When there are two signs clearly posted. And the sad thing is, I'm seldom ever asked by the people who don't speak English as their primary language. they find the area just fine.

To not put too fine a point on it, people are stupid.

but you don't care about that. All you want to know is if Sesshoumaru actually behaves in this chapter. Well, he does...for a little while. But when he misbehaves this time, Aki finally goes over the deep end and gets a little peeved with him. Not that he didn't have it coming, but unfortunately, Aki's body (in its condition) can't support that emotion right now and she scares everybody rather badly.

Dude, Rumiko TAkahashi's other characters (the ones not in this part, not even in disguise) are all giving prayers of thanks and celebration that they've been granted this little reprieve from my evilness. I don't know why though, most the others really don't suffer under it...unless you count the late night tent raids 'n stuff...

**Over the Edge**

After Sesshoumaru had successfully learned lesson two "hair care," the demon lord strode down the hall to the living room, leaving a struggling Inuyasha and frustrated Loki. Who knew the Half-breed's hair could be so tangled?

He found Aki on the couch in the living room studying a bunch of papers and making small notes on a pad of paper resting on the arm. She didn't even look up as the demon lord settled on the floor in front of her, gently moving the coffee table out of the way. She didn't look the worse for wear, even though he knew her appearance was deceptive. Sesshoumaru had heard the conversation between Loki and Kaoru while he was in the shower. He knew she was in desperate need of care, and yet to look at her, you would never know.

He reached out a clawed hand to squeeze her thigh, asking for her attention. Aki looked up at him and gave him a small smile of acknowledgement before returning to the papers in her lap. Sesshoumaru took a deep breath before doing anything. Loki had told him he didn't respect Aki. Fred had said something similar once. The demon lord had promised to try not to act that way again. He had failed, time to follow Fred's standing advice and apologize for it.

Sesshoumaru reached up and gently traced one of the bruises on her arm with a gentle claw. The muscles of her arm flexed in reaction to the tender caress on her abused flesh. He took a deep breath and sighed. Would the events of this morning be enough to ruin any chances with her he might have had? Shaking the depressing thought from his head, he tugged at her sleeve.

"Yes?" Aki asked without looking up. She instead flipped to the next page of information.

This was bad; she wouldn't even look at him. Sesshoumaru sighed imperceptibly with dejection. He really did need to apologize, and this time she wasn't going to make it easy on him.

Sesshoumaru clenched his jaw and leaned up to plant a firm kiss on her forehead. If she had been raised amongst youkai that would be apology enough. But Aki had been raised around humans and thus required more than a simple show of respect and affection. "Aki," he said softly. "About earlier," the taiyoukai lowered his eyes as his thumb traced one of the bruises on her arm. "I'm sorry."

Aki's eyes flickered to his face, then back to what she was reading.

"I don't..I just…" he sighed in frustration. How could he explain his behavior without embarrassing himself? Sesshoumaru shook his head; the fact was he couldn't. And until he explained himself, he hadn't properly apologized. "From everything that happened since that – that 'warning' as you called it and the blood this morning, I just –"

"You were worried," Aki finished for him, finally looking at him. He nodded numbly, somewhat dismayed at the weariness lining her expression.

"Why do you look so tired?" he murmured to himself.

Aki raised her eyebrow at him. "Because I am tired," she answered him. He continued to study her face. He brought his hand up to cup her cheek absently.

Sesshoumaru leaned closer to look in her eyes for a moment.

And a moment was all he had. A frustrated shout from the direction of Aki's bedroom absolutely ruined the would-be moment. Aki smiled with amusement as she set aside her papers and stood up.

"Sounds like Loki could sure some help," she chuckled. "Lets go see what's going on in there before they wreck my room," she sighed softly as she hauled herself up off the couch slowly.

The demon lord rolled smoothly to his feet to follow after her. Really, what could be so hard about combing hair?

It was a short walk down the hall and into the middle of a very amusing scene of domestic strife. Loki was cursing up a storm with half a comb in his hand while Inuyasha was likewise cursing and growling. The other half of the comb was lodged in the hanyou's messy silver locks.

"Now, now Loki," Aki began dryly. "You'll never be a hair stylist if you continue doing things that way."

The gang leader sent her a look that could kill an elephant at forty paces. "Well, if you think that you could do better then try it!" he huffed.

Aki chuckled softly before quickly getting down to business. "Inuyasha, go sit on the bed for me," she asked as she stepped into the swamp that used to be her bathroom for another comb. She walked over to the bed and climbed onto it so she could kneel comfortably behind the hanyou. Starting by removing the broken comb she sensed the dog boy tense up.

"Why are you so tense?" Aki clucked, "This isn't a battle."

"It was when he did it!" Inuyasha growled. "I bet he was trying to pull all my hair out while he was at it."

"What'd you do, Loki? Start at the top and try to pull the comb through his hair?" Aki asked.

"That's how it's done isn't it?" Loki grumbled.

"You're kidding, right? Everybody knows that when you're trying to work out a knot or a 'rat's nest' you start at the bottom and slowly work your way up," Aki informed him, demonstrating.

"Well, sorry for never learning how to properly take care of other people's hair," Loki groused.

"You're forgiven," Aki said with a grin, continuing to work the comb through Inuyasha's hair. "Mmm, Inuyasha, you smell good enough to eat!" she teased.

"Feh! It's because of those damn fruity soaps of yours!" the dog boy complained over the purr-like contented sound he was making deep in his chest.

"I like those 'fruity soaps'!" Aki retorted with a minor tug on his hair.

"Of course you do, you're a girl!" Inuyasha replied absently.

"And just what's wrong with being a girl?" Aki paused in her combing.

"I didn't say anything was wrong with being a girl. I'm just saying that girls like smelly frou-frou things," he declared without much thought.

Aki accidentally caught his ear with the comb causing him to yelp. "I do not like 'frou-frou things' as you put it," she argued.

"Oh yeah, then what's that!" Inuyasha pointed to the stuffed bear leaning innocently against her pillow.

Aki smiled softly as she looked at it. "That's a memory," she replied quietly. "Loki could you get me a hair tie from the flood that used to be my bathroom?"

"What are you going to do to my hair?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Nothing girly, now sit still and shut up," Aki ordered.

"I will not. I want to know what you're going to do to my hair!" Inuyasha yelled as he attempted to jump away from Aki. Her firm hand on his shoulder impeded the action as he was primly plopped down right back where he was.

"I'm just going to tie your hair back so it won't get so tangled," the former English tutor rolled her eyes. "Who would've thought you'd be so touchy about your hair?"

"Why do I have to tie my hair back? Nobody else does," Inuyasha complained.

"Because you're more likely to run all over the city than we are and Loki's hair is shorter than yours," Aki reasoned.

Inuyasha crossed his arms in a very stubborn pout.

"Oh god, Inuyasha" Aki groaned, "stop pouting." The dog boy merely jerked to the side and muttered a solid "Feh!" She sighed tiredly and rubbed her temple, "If I put my hair up would you please allow me to tie yours back?"

Inuyasha was too busy being indignant to answer her. Aki sighed again and asked Loki to get her a pair of chopsticks from the bathroom.

"Why do you keep chopsticks in the bathroom?" Sesshoumaru asked her quietly. Bathrooms, as he was given to understand, were not places fro eating or food. Rather quite the opposite when not bathing.

Aki gave him a lop-sided grin, "these aren't meant for eating utensils." He gave her a confused look as Loki handed her a pair of dark brown lacquered sticks with red dragons painted on them. "Watch and learn," she said smugly, swiftly twisting her hair up into a modest bun with the two sticks poked into it at angles from each other. "Now, Inuyasha, are you going to let me tie your hair back with this very simple and manly," she snorted, "rubber band?"

Loki snickered at Inuyasha's expression of doubt, earning Aki's annoyed glare, "Watch yourself Loki. I might take it into my head to tell Kaoru you want her to braid your hair."

"You wouldn't," Loki accused in disbelief, not sure if he should be horrified or pleased by the threat.

She gave him a fairly flat look, "Don't tempt me." The gang leader could've sworn the chopsticks in her hair looked like horns set to gore him on the sharp edge of embarrassment. Loki swallowed and shook his head indicating he would behave. "Okay then, Inuyasha, hold this for me," she gave the seated dog boy the rather plain hair tie to hold onto while she gathered his hair at the back of his neck for a low pony tail.

"I still can't believe he's making this big a deal over his hair," Loki muttered amusedly under his breath.

"Loki!" Aki said sharply over Inuyasha's growl. "I would shut up if I was you, I do have another pair of chopsticks to stick in your hair and Kaoru is just in the kitchen."

The gang leader's eyes widened at the threat. "I'll be good," he mumbled softly.

"Good!" Aki turned slightly to hide her grin. "All right," she patted Inuyasha on the shoulder, "all done. Go have a look, see if it's too girly for you," she rolled her eyes discreetly.

Sesshoumaru watched their interaction slightly impressed with Aki's ability to control the situation without threats of violence. What threats she did issue were threats of embarrassment rather than physical harm. And she managed to use a mild compromise to smooth over Inuyasha's would be tantrum about his hair.

The only problem, Sesshoumaru preferred Aki's hair down, free and unfettered. A problem easily remedied as he studied the sticks holding her hair up. Remove one and the whole coif would come down.

As Aki stood up to lead back to the living room after Inuyasha's reluctant okay. The youkai lord of the Western lands stalked up behind her and absconded both sticks out of her hair carefully. She stopped right as she felt her hair start to tumble down her back and turned to face the three males behind her.

Aki looked them over steadily from the hallway without an expression on her face. The three of them watched as her eyes flashed to a more demonic green before fixing on Sesshoumaru. "May I have my hair sticks please?" she asked in a deceptively soft voice.

Sesshoumaru looked down his nose at her without answering. He'd removed them from her person for a reason. That should be answer enough.

"Sesshoumaru!" she began sharply before pausing to modify her voice. "Give me back my hair sticks, now please." Aki suck out a hand as she finished the demand.

The dog demon just scoffed at her as he placed the sticks in the convenient back pocket of his pants. "Leave your hair down," he growled, satisfied with the way her hair draped down her shoulders.

This was obviously the wrong thing to say as her aura spiked with anger. The bracelets on her wrist began to spark a warning as she leapt at him.

In an instant Loki had her pressed against the wall in the hall while he shouted for Tuck. "Aki calm down!" he roared as she struggled against him.

Suddenly Tuck was helping Loki subdue Aki. Kaoru slipped passed them and grabbed the blanket off the bed.

"Damn it!" Tuck cried. "She's passed out. Kaoru-"

"A blanket, I'm way ahead of you," the pink haired female handed the older youkai the comforter.

Loki moved so that Tuck could wrap the unconscious Aki snuggly in the blanket, catching a glimpse of her blackened wrists before they disappeared under the cotton. "Kaoru go pack up breakfast if you still want her to eat it," the cook sighed. "She needs to see Mouse, now!"

Kaoru nodded and disappeared down the hall.

"What's going on?" Inuyasha cried, extremely worried about the female that was his adopted sister.

"You're brother here has been working on pissing her off all morning until he finally succeeded. Unfortunately, most demons get violent when they're pissed," Loki growled. "Such exertion over loaded the bracelets, which then shocked her system, knocking her unconscious and seriously screwing with her nervous system." The gang leader narrowed his eyes at Sesshoumaru. "Happy now? She's susceptible to chills and vulnerable to every disease out there since her body has shut down. And another shock could stop her heart."

Sesshoumaru looked a little paler than usual as Inuyasha tried to get close enough to reassure himself that Aki was breathing.

Tuck handed his keys to Loki as he hefted the bundled Aki into his arms, "Drive them to Mouse's in my car," he told the younger male.

Loki nodded, "Get her there in one piece. I'll have Kaoru call ahead and warn them what's up."

Tuck nodded and headed for the door cradling his precious cargo.

"Wait! Where's he going with Aki!" Inuyasha growled. Loki gave him a flat look before heading to the kitchen and Kaoru.

"Kaoru, I need you to call ahead to Mouse's and warn them-" Loki began.

"-That Tuck is on his way with one unconscious Aki," Kaoru interrupted him, snapping her cell phone shut having already made the call. "Already done."

Loki grinned roguishly at her, "Ah, that's what I love about you. You're so quick on the uptake."

"Don't be ridiculous, we've run this as drill before," Kaoru scoffed as she began packing the food she'd bought for breakfast. "So does anybody want to tell me what set her off?"

Loki turned to glare at the inu youkai standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Inuyasha reached out and snatched the chopsticks from his brother.

"These," Inuyasha showed her.

Kaoru raised an eyebrow at him before taking a good look at the hair sticks. "Ah, no wonder." She turned to continue her work.

"What do you mean 'no wonder'?" the dog boy asked, sensing there was more to this than just what was on the surface.

"I mean no wonder," Kaoru replied without turning. "First off, one does not ever, _ever_ mess with a woman's hair in mixed company without permission first. To do so is grounds for a serious fight and/or punishment. Secondly, nearly everything in Aki's apartment has a meaning behind it other than the obvious." Kaoru paused, "I happen to know those particular hair sticks were the last gift Aki received from her now dead mother."

Sesshoumaru blanched, no wonder Aki had gotten so angry when he refused to return the little pieces of wood.

"Certain things in Aki's apartment you aren't to mess with if you desire a continued acquaintance. One are those sticks, another is the teddy bear in her room," Kaoru continued.

"What's the story behind that plushy?" Inuyasha asked in curiosity.

Kaoru smiled, "It was a gift she received from her father when she was little. She's had it ever since. I think there's more to it than that, but that's what Aki told me."

"Where did Tuck take Aki?" the hanyou asked since he was already on a roll with getting answers.

"To Mouse's. After collapsing like that, Aki needs immediate medical help to get her back to normal again. It's mostly a precaution Mouse had us plan for when we found out Aki had this problem, though this is the first time she's ever gotten this bad," Kaoru mused aloud. "Normally it's just the trouble breathing, but even that's started earlier than usual."

Sesshoumaru was beginning to get angry. Was the woman _trying _to make him feel guilty?

"Why didn't he take his car?" Inuyasha asked.

"Tuck can get her there faster without the car," Loki answered him. "Traffic this time of day makes driving one of the slower modes of transportation. Of course if he could run all the way there, he could out run the fastest car, but he can't."

"Why not?" Sesshoumaru demanded, he certainly could run all the way to wherever it was their destination happened to be.

"Because to flout demonic powers like that would endanger every person with youkai heritage on the planet. Humans rule the world today and youkai survive by remaining secret. If some guy were to win a race against a car while carrying another person, there goes secrecy," Loki snapped his fingers. "And with secrecy goes me, Kaoru and Aki. You may not have to live here, but we do."

"Aki is not going to remain here," Sesshoumaru declared firmly.

"Quite right, if Aki dies today she doesn't have to live anywhere," Kaoru snorted.

Sesshoumaru pushed her up against the nearest wall violently. A second later he felt the cool tip of a blade on the back of his neck.

"Put her down," Loki growled darkly. "What she said was not a threat but a warning. If Aki dies today it will be because of your actions, not anyone else's. Not Kaoru, not me, but you because you could not give up whatever tiny part of her life you thought you held."

"Loki calm down," Kaoru tried to soothe the gang leader that only growled at her.

"Aki may have been your mate at one time, but she isn't anymore," Loki growled red flashing in his eyes. "Accept it and treat her accordingly."

"He can't," Inuyasha spoke up.

"Why not?" Kaoru asked.

"Well for starters, he can't kill the bastards that broke off the mating contract between him and Aki," Inuyasha answered. "The situation in and of itself exists outside the bounds of his experience.

"Silence!" Sesshoumaru growled angrily at his younger half brother.

"Wait, wait, wait." Kaoru began slowly getting a grasp on things, "Since we last saw Aki disappear into the old bone eater's well, she, at one point, was mated to him?" Inuyasha nodded. "Then by some twist of fate as yet unexplained, Aki and Sesshoumaru's mating contract was revoked by some outside power that a full-blooded grown inu youkai can't kill?" Inuyasha nodded again. "Why didn't he just mark Aki again?"

Inuyasha smirked, "He tried, Aki wouldn't let him."

"Loki, let him go," Kaoru said firmly. "I suspect there's more to this story than we know thus far, but we'll hear _all_ of it later." Of that she was certain. She was going to know everything about how Aki, who supposedly didn't want a mate, had managed to find one without Kaoru pushing for it. If anything, it would help her figure out how to set things up the next time she tried match Aki up.

The gang leader Growled without moving, he didn't want to do as she said. Kaoru gave a growl of her own as she reached over and cuffed him solidly behind the ear. "I said let him go! He's probably hurting enough without you helping. Besides, you have to drive us to Mouse's" she reminded him, picking up the packed food and heading for the door.

Loki growled another warning at the youkai lord before disappearing after Kaoru.

"Come on, we have to go see if Aki's all right now," Inuyasha mumbled as he turned and left the room.

Sesshoumaru stood silently for a moment longer before picking up the chopsticks from where Inuyasha had absently dropped them before following after the rest of them. It seemed he was constantly finding new ways to drive Aki from him when all he wanted to do was draw her closer. He gave a disheartened sigh as he locked the door behind him and followed the scent of his younger brother outside to the car.

This little incident was going to require some serious apologizing.


	7. Not In White

Ah wednesday. Thankfully I don't have to work, but my next day off is next wednesday, so I have a long week ahead of me again.

I am miserable. And it isn't because because of the long work week ahead of me. SEe, last week, in the midle of that exceedingly long week of work, I manage to develop facial palsy. Half of my face doesn't move properly. And my sinuses have decided to go crazy because of the weather constantly changing. Do you have any idea how uncomfortable it is to eat, talk, or just work when your mouth is half broken. Or as I like to say, my smile is broken, literally. oh and that's not all. I can't close my eye all the way so it constantly waters, making driving a chore. Watching tv, studying, reading are all difficult. And it'll take anywhere from a week to two months to work itself out.

My mother, when she first found out, went into a low-grade hysterical fit. I think she practically invented it. So worried it was permanent she won't listen to me when I tell her what is really going on, and she's infected my dad a little bit too. She's getting a little better though. It's starting to go away already. Guess she'll finally stop repeating my grandmother's false information now. heh!

but you don't really want to know about that. You want to know how Aki is doing and if Sesshoumaru is going to get a beat down like he deserves. WEll, you'll just have to do what Even Rumiko Takahashi would have to do... Read it. heehee.

Enjoy!

**Not In White**

The car ride to the mysterious Mouse's clinic had been rather uneventful as all parties in the car strove to calm their tempers and made sure not to interact with each other more than necessary. This behavior might have continued past the end of the trip if there hadn't been a few ground rules to establish before entering the youkai house of healing.

"All right," a much calmer Loki began as he shut the car door. "First off, no threatening Mouse. Mouse is a healer and completely neutral when it comes to youkai politics. She doesn't care who you are or where you come from, if you're hurt and make it to her place, she will heal you. The only way you'll ever be barred entrance to her care is if you threaten her or those she has currently under her care." Loki paused for breath. "Rule two, there is a certain youkai that lives with Mouse. You will not threaten, tease or otherwise disrespect him. The only people allowed to do any of the above are Mouse and Aki. They're the only ones trusted not to touch on subjects that will reopen his emotional or mental scars. His name is Data. Aki is his favorite person in the world. If he knows you're the reason Aki's in the condition she was in, your meeting with him will not be pleasant. And no matter how normal he seems, he's damaged."

"When we get inside Mouse will already know everything that's happened to Aki since her last check up," Kaoru added. "Just a guess, but there's probably a lot that's happened in the last month she would frown on. Mouse will take you to task for it. Aki is very special to Mouse and any harm that befalls Aki pisses off Mouse to no end. She'll most likely drag you off to talk to you in private. No matter what is said, only you will hear it. This is a sanctuary, a place of healing so most rooms are sound proofed and the air is as clean as possible." Kaoru paused a moment in thought, "You may or may not see Aki before Mouse drags you off for that talk. I'm not sure of her condition now but I doubt she's awake yet."

"Wait," Inuyasha interrupted, confused. "How could this Mouse person know everything that's happened if Aki's not awake to tell her?"

Kaoru smiled smugly, "it's one of Mouse's many gifts, part of the reason she's such a successful healer."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at that and Kaoru chuckled, "you'll see soon enough."

Loki snorted as he opened the door for Kaoru, "Yeah whatever Aki doesn't feel like telling me, Mouse finds out easily without breaking a sweat," he grumbled good-naturedly. "You coming dog prince? I think I'm looking forward to introducing you to Mouse."

Sesshoumaru suppressed the growl that threatened to surface at Loki's lack of respect and subtle threats.

"Loki!" a childish voice called as a young boy hurtled down the hall at them. "Where've you been? I expected you ages ago!"

"I know Data," Loki sighed tiredly. "I had some things to take care of first."

The now identified Data narrowed his eyes at the taller male. "I hope you kicked his ass!" he growled with red flashing in his eyes. "Better yet, I hoped you killed the bastard that hurt Aki!"

"Whoa! Hold up!" Loki choked out. "One thing at a time. First, how is she?" he asked the all-important question on everyone's mind.

"She's still breathing if that's what you want to know," another voice floated down the hall. "Data! What have I told you about running in the hall! This is a place of healing _not_ a playground!"

Data cuffed his toe and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah."

The female walking down the hall looked like she washed her clothes and hair with white out. Everything about her person was more close to white than the color it supposedly had been at one time. Her hair had a slight hint of blue and her eyes could barely be called green. Her clothes might have been blue at one point, but now they were so close to white one dismissed the hint of color as a trick of the harsh overhead lights. Thus Mouse stood before them without expression on her face. Next to her Data stuck out like a black-eyed Susan in a bouquet of bluebonnets.

"Good you brought them," her eyes flicked to the brothers as her voice cut them with the last word. Mouse turned abruptly, freezing them both with her chilly voice. "Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, follow me please. I have a good number of words I wish to share with you."

"Hey, is Aki alright?" Inuyasha asked softly as Mouse led them around a corner and into an empty room.

Mouse's answer was to flick on a switch that raised the cover over the observation window to the next room. There lay Aki on a simple hospital bed wrapped in bleached cotton sheets, her hair spread across the pillow to hang of the edge of the bed. Her breathing was shallow and fast.

"We finally got her warmed, only to have her slip into the fever her body produced in order to heal the damage she's sustained," Mouse told them coldly. "I imagine her difficulty breathing is leftover from the poison she picked up from your claws not three weeks ago," Mouse accused icily. "Or perhaps being pressed to a wall a couple times this morning was enough."

Sesshoumaru growled softly in mild protest.

"Hey lay off! It's not like he did this on purpose!" Inuyasha bellowed, not liking this accusation session despite the fact it was directed at his hated half brother.

"Don't get me started on you and the number of times you've stuck her with Tessaiga," Mouse retorted mildly. "Besides, how can you possibly expect me to believe the finger and claw shaped bruises on her arms was an accident? Especially when coupled with the extensive bruising on her back? Even if Aki hadn't collapsed, she wouldn't have been able to handle much more manhandling today. As it is, if she wasn't already unconscious, she wouldn't be able to sleep due to the pain laying on her back would cause."

"So that's what happened this morning," Inuyasha mumbled.

"Oh that's only part of it," Mouse continued without changing her monotonous tone. "Actually, it started before she woke up this morning when she was pushed off the bed to the floor, but I suppose I could excuse that for the accident it was." Sesshoumaru fought back the colour that threatened to flood his features. "What I can't dismiss is the way you both continue to hurt Aki without bothering to think about it."

"What are you talking about? Except those times with the Tessaiga I never-" Inuyasha began loudly.

"You do the same thing over and over again and it hurts her more than the physical wounds either of you could deal her." Mouse cut him off. "Aki lost all of her family in one ni-"

"We know that!" Inuyasha interrupted angrily.

His anger dissolved quickly under the look she gave him. "So you know she lost her family, hmm?" Mouse began, deliberately using small words to be sure they both understood. "You know that she lost her heart and soul in a pool of blood? You know that her little brothers died the day before their school let out for their winter holidays? You know Aki had just come home from her own school to spend time with the family she had hardly seen in months?" Mouse shook her head coldly at them, "You know nothing. Aki lost every piece of her life that kept her breathing and striving for more all in one night. If you knew that like you said you do, you would not have continued to hurt her so." Mouse turned from them to stare out the observation window.

Inuyasha stood there confused as to what the hell she could be talking about, but damned if he'd ask.

"What is it that you speak of?" a cool voice filled the silence of the room. Inuyasha stared. Did Sesshoumaru just admit to ignorance in a situation? Oh no! The world must be coming to an end!

Mouse didn't bother to turn around. "Don't you think that someone that held their family so dear and lost them would be pained watching you two fight each other with the goal of injuring or possibly eliminating the other? Don't you think that someone like that would feel it like a slap in the face? You two still have each other, but you refuse to see it that way. To you, the other is an object of pain and hatred. For Aki, that's like rubbing salt in an open wound. She had brothers once. She loved them greatly and then she lost them." Mouse turned to hold their amber eyes with a look. "Then she is forced to watch someone else that still has a brother treat that privilege like a curse. It would be all right if you just took it for granted. It would be fine if you sparred or argued, but fighting with the intent to kill hurts her." Mouse turned back to watch Aki's uneasy breathing. "And for someone like Aki, who refuses to kill, the only thing more painful than watching you two fight each other would be if one of you succeeded in killing the other."

Inuyasha's eyes widened in surprise. He'd never thought of it like that. Now that it had been pointed out to him, he wondered if any of the rest of his friends felt something similar. Miroku had never had any family to speak of, his father having died years ago. Sango had lost her entire village except her little brother whom she was forced to fight by Naraku. Shippou had lost his family just before they met him. Gods, his band of misfits all had reason to dislike the altercations with his brother. Even Kagome, who rarely got to see her younger brother because of the shard hunt. Inuyasha winced; they'd probably already realized Aki might be pained by him and his brother, even if she was impossible to read.

The hanyou abruptly turned and headed for the door. "Where are you going?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly.

"In there," Inuyasha waved at the window, "to wait for Aki to wake up so I can apologize."

The demon lord moved to follow the younger male but Mouse's firm "Sesshoumaru" held him back. "I'm not quite finished talking to you yet," the healer continued. "Why do you pursue Aki? What are your intentions?"

"Don't you know already?" he returned, his voice hard as flint.

"I know you continue to desire Aki for a mate. What I don't know is why?" Mouse looked at him.

"Can't you just read my mind?" Sesshoumaru spat feeling slightly unnerved and angry.

"If I had no respect for your privacy I suppose I could. If you were my patient I might, but I don't go around stealing thoughts and memories from people's minds," Mouse replied coolly. "Besides the horrible headache I would develop, not everybody has thoughts I necessarily want to know about." She paused briefly before continuing. "I only use my gift on patients that come in alone and unconscious so I can know what they've done to put themselves in such a state." She sighed softly, "But Aki is a special case. Which is why I want to know what your intentions are and why you refuse to seek a different mate." Mouse shifted to stare through the window, "I need to decide whether to tell you what Aki will need you to know should you succeed in winning her affections."

Sesshoumaru blinked at Mouse's back. Slowly he smirked at her, "you'll have to be more specific than that. After all, I might be one of those people whose thoughts you don't really want to know."

Mouse closed her eyes briefly, making him realize it was the first time she'd done so. "Being with Aki has been good for you, if you've picked up a bit of her playful sense of humor." The healer turned to look at him, "I want to know what you want from Aki. I want to know what reasons you hold for wanting them from Aki specifically. By you telling me this I can decide whether or not you're likely to succeed in you endeavors."

Sesshoumaru thought a moment gazing at the subject of their conversation through the clear glass. "What I want?" he breathed softly in consideration, mulling over the best way to reply.

"This isn't a test of your oratory skills, just say what comes out," she demanded as the silence stretched too long for the simple question.

The youkai lord let his features slide into a half-smile as he brushed his finger tips along the cool window. "What I want…" he murmured again. "I want Aki. I want her pain replaced with joy. I want the joy to be because of me. I want her near me when I'm awake and beside me when I sleep. I want her scent to not be so elusive. I want the sadness and fatigue in her eyes to disappear. I want to soothe away her nightmares and calm her fears. I want her to feel free to show all her emotions without shame." The inu youkai paused a moment, "I want Aki as my mate. I want to be the one she asks for help. I want to wake up to her sleeping face. I want her wrapped in my scent so thick that no one else's but hers can be detected." Sesshoumaru growled as his eyes flashed briefly to red with possessiveness. "I want to watch her teach our young ones about life. Most of all I want to see her grow heavy with the child that I put there, and if I can't have that then I want to at least try for the for that the rest of her life."

"You're talking of marking her," the healer gazed at him.

"As many times as she'll allow," Sesshoumaru returned her gaze with a nod.

"So that is what you want," Mouse spoke softly. "Why?"

The youkai lord turned back to look at Aki. "What do you mean?"

"Every desire you just expressed could be had with any female. It could simply be caused by instinct," Mouse stated.

Sesshoumaru growled, "I want Aki."

"Yes, but why her?" Mouse repeated. "What is so special about Aki that you refuse to even consider another female? What makes her the only one to fulfill all your wishes for the future?"

"Are you jealous? You seek to take her place?" Sesshoumaru asked suspiciously.

"I would prefer the company of a knife over yours, now stop avoiding the question and answer it!" Mouse ordered. "Why is Aki the _only_ one who could fulfill all those desires for you? What sets her above all other females in the world?"

The taiyoukai growled softly under his breath.

"I don't speak dog," Mouse said shortly, "Try speaking my language, I know you can."

"You are intolerably rude, wench!" Sesshoumaru declared through gritted teeth.

"I'm also impertinent, but that's neither here nor there. Answer the question," Mouse demanded softly.

The demon lord clenched his jaw and glared at the almost demon in the next room. "It just has to be Aki," he almost shrugged, unable or unwilling to elaborate.

Sesshoumaru fairly roared in frustration when Mouse lifted an eyebrow at him and opened her mouth. Mouse snapped her mouth shut with a knowing chuckle. "Your frustration and anger conveys more than you might be able to say," Mouse gave him a gentle smile. "That gives me some hope for you, but know that if you don't learn how to say it, learn what it is, you won't succeed in this undertaking. Someday she will need to hear the words and if you allow your pride to get in the way she very well may break."

Sesshoumaru regained his composure, carefully slipping behind his mask of ice. He didn't like not knowing what the healer was talking about. He didn't like her amusement at his frustration. He didn't like her cryptic doomsayer speech about his and Aki's future. She spoke of Aki like the powerful almost youkai were fundamentally fragile and easily broken by words or lack of them.

"You don't think so?" Mouse raised an eyebrow. "Here, let me show you," she hit the switch to cover the observation window, cutting off the excess light for the other room. The small woman turned to the large blank screen and hit the button on the machine underneath it. "Data's been working on this program for years, but he only just got it finished right after meeting Aki. He's tweaked it to work especially well for her. After all, Aki funded the end portion of its development and re-outfitted this place with new equipment when Loki first brought her here several months ago. Data works all night developing new things to add to it and to smooth out the bugs that surface during use." Mouse absently smiled warmly at the thought, "He also insists we use it on other patients before trying it on Aki. He can't stand the thought of her being injured. Probably why he finished it up so quickly."

Sesshoumaru gazed over her shoulder at the flickering screen blankly. Everything she had just said meant very little to him and he really didn't see the point of her messing with this strange equipment. That is until the pictures appeared on the screen.

The monitor held a glowing double image of Aki with thin threadlike bonds strung out between the two. A glowing fuchsia colored light and a gnawing, gelatinous, black substance surrounded the bonds. Somehow he knew the black substance was not a good thing for Aki's health.

"You know that every living thing has a 'soul' right?" Mouse began, "And you know that demons heal faster than humans because they have closer ties with their 'soul' than humans. Normally when we show a youkai on this screen the images for the 'soul' and the living tissue overlap almost completely. Such overlapping would indicate a healthy youkai with a fast healing ability. Humans, who heal more slowly, would cause the images to overlap nearly half as much. Partial youkai, like Aki, would normally have an amount of overlap that is somewhere between the human's and a full-blooded youkai," Mouse continued to explain.

"But there is little to no overlap of these images," Sesshoumaru interrupted, subconsciously thankful the horror he was feeling hadn't seeped into his tone.

Mouse nodded solemnly. "The shock of her family's death on top of the sudden attack by whatever curse her family received severed most of the links between body and soul. The curse has been slowly eating away at the ties that are left," Mouse indicated the black substance surrounding the glowing threads with a delicately manicured claw. "Every time she comes back here the threads get more tenuous. Most who come even half this close to total separation tend to be on their death bed."

"But Aki isn't," the taiyoukai declared firmly.

Mouse turned to the inu youkai with a grim smile. "No, right now she isn't. She's holding on by shear will power, but how long can that last? Her psyche is cracked and splintered, it won't take much for it to shatter and Aki to slip beyond our ability to help her."

"Aki is not so weak as that," Sesshoumaru growled.

"Quite right, I don't know of any other person who's successfully fought off the edge of insanity, survived prolonged exposure to a particularly malignant curse, dissolved in an identity crisis all while hopping though time and losing all connection with her soul. Aki is not weak, you're correct, but even Aki can't continue on like this indefinitely," Mouse countered firmly. "Not even you could." The little healer sighed tiredly, "Aki needs to somehow renew the connections between body and soul, but there's no point in doing it before she gets rid of the curse."

"The Shikon no kakera…" Sesshoumaru began.

"Doesn't help much. You've noticed its presence," Mouse pointed to the fuchsia fog on the screen. "The Shikon fragments do strengthen what ties Aki still maintains despite the curse's knawing, but the shock of absorbing one of the shards snaps as many bonds as it strengthens."

"Then get rid of the curse," Sesshoumaru commanded simply.

"We don't know how," Mouse said firmly. "In order to rid Aki of this curse, we first need to know how it was put there, who put it there and what it is. Right now we only know what it does," Mouse explained. That's what the twins, whom you'll be meeting tomorrow are trying to figure out."

"So there's nothing you can do?" he nearly growled in frustration.

"We can try to slow down the curse's progress, but that can be very dangerous," Mouse informed him.

"What about this machine? Can't it do something?" Sesshoumaru demanded.

"It can only read what it's shown," Mouse replied. "Without it, we wouldn't know how dire the situation with Aki actually is. We could only guess, but this helps us know exactly where we stand." The pale healer looked at Sesshoumaru, "It also helps us to know what else is going on between her soul and her body." Mouse turned back to the screen, "For instance, Aki's 'condition' is actually slightly better than I would've expected." She paused before continuing, "the entities that summoned Aki from this world somehow managed to strengthen the bonds between the two. Somehow they've fortified the bonds against the curse's gnawing. Basically giving us more time to figure things out. And they are looking into removing the curse from their end of things as well."

"So that leaves us…" Sesshoumaru prompted.

"That leaves us to renew the connection between body and soul. That leaves us to try and maintain Aki's physical health. That leaves us with trying to heal that damn gash on the back of her shoulder," Mouse glanced at the inu youkai evenly. "And I've got a few ideas that won't end in pillowing."

Sesshoumaru growled petulantly. What was it with this little female and accusing him of things?

"Though after talking with you, I'm not as against the idea, but you need to stop trying to manipulate her into being your mate." Mouse scolded him. "If you want something that will last and won't make her hate you. Let it happen naturally," she finished absently as some piece of information on the screen caught her attention.

Sesshoumaru stared at the images of Aki on the screen allowing the healer's advice to sink in without seeming to. "How long does she have?"

The question startled the healer out of her contemplation of whatever had caught her attention. "That's the ultimate question, one for which we require a precise answer, but can only give generalities," Mouse sighed quietly.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, we don't know. We can guess, but we can't be certain. Could be today, Could be years from now, we don't know," Mouse replied while returning her attention to what she was working on before.

"That is unacceptable!" Sesshoumaru growled.

"That's life," Mouse returned absently. She hurriedly wrote something on a piece of paper and stood up to leave. Finally the healer looked at him fully. "You want a definite answer that I _know_ is true? Aki will die sometime after this moment in her life. That's certain for all things eventually die," Mouse told him in a voice that was no more than a dry statement of facts. "Until then she will live, or survive as she puts it." Then she promptly left the room.

Sesshoumaru stared at the distorted images a certain lights began to flash and brighten.

Aki was barely awake and already she knew she wasn't in her apartment. For starters, the sheets on which she rested were entirely too stiff to be hers. They were scratchy and smelled all-wrong. Besides, it was hard to miss the absence of her favorite bear.

The next thing she noticed was a distinct lack of noise. The air was just too still and quiet despite the forced movement of the air conditioners.

She heaved a gentle sigh despite the violent urge to shiver. She was freezing and she knew she should be. Aki groaned and sat up slowly, clenching her teeth against the nauseous feeling of vertigo the action aroused.

Cautiously, so as not to blind herself, she opened her eyes to the bright white room and panic seized her. Aki hated sterile white rooms. Her eyes shot around the room bouncing of the plain white walls and observation glass. She hated sterile white rooms with observation windows. More than that, she hated to be alone in them.

Forgetting the dizziness that plagued her every movement, disregarding the weakness pervading her limbs, Aki swiftly leapt from the bed and headed for the door determined to leave this nightmare ASAP.

She had just reached the door with her hand on the knob, when it opened outward and she started to fall. The room spun and her arms flailed before somebody caught her.

"Whoa!" a deep voice rumbled through the chest she found herself leaning against. A chuckle sounded as the arms that caught her lifted her to almost stand on her own. "I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to be on your feet yet." She found herself looking into Loki's face. "Come on, I'll help you back to bed," he finished with a wry grin.

Aki fuzzily nodded in agreement, a bed sounded awesome just then. Her body shook with muscle fatigue and chills brought on by her fever. Yep, it would be great to lie down and go back to sleep. Just not in there!

Loki had attempted to steer Aki back into the room she had been attempting to escape when the almost youkai latched onto the doorframe with greater strength than he would've thought possible.

"Not in there!" Aki cried and subconsciously began to dig her claws into the wall, reinforcing her grip on the doorframe. "Don't put me in there!" her voice cracked under the stress of her fear.

Loki reached out to try and dislodge her hold on the wall and she burst into hysterical tears at his touch.

"No!" Aki fairly screamed in panic. "No don't make me go in there, don't lock me away! Please don't put me back in there! Please…"She continued endlessly, incoherently pleading with him.

Loki finally took the hint and let go. He watched her slide down to sit on the floor slightly curled in on herself.

Tears streamed down her face in a salty torrent punctuated by half-hearted hiccups and mumbled protests. Aki's mind was fuzzy and she could no longer see clearly, but she was too tired to care. Shakily, she buried her face in her hands, not noticing the absence of her bracelets or the scratches she gave herself with her claws.

Inuyasha, finally having found his way to the entrance to Aki's room, immediately ran back to the last place he'd seen his elder brother. The dog boy instinctively knew Sesshoumaru would know the best way to soothe the emotionally over stimulated Aki. He needn't have bothered.

After a few moments of staring unproductively at the screen, Sesshoumaru had turned to follow after the healer and demand an explanation. The moment the door opened the sounds reached his ears and the terrifying scent of Aki's blood reached his senses. Sesshoumaru was moving towards the source of the scent before Inuyasha had a chance to go very far.

The sight of Aki in a broken heap on the floor caused a constriction of the muscles in his chest despite the evidence that she was physically all right.

Sesshoumaru kneeled on the floor next to her. Being this close he could smell her overwhelming fear and clearly hear the torrent of nearly unintelligible words spilling out from behind the hands hiding her face. She kept slipping in and out of Japanese.

He reached out and gently grasped her shoulder in an attempt to try and quiet her. Aki jumped and momentarily quieted. Slowly, she raised her face from the protective shelter of her hands and gazed over the jagged peaks of her talons.

The first glimpse of her ashen tear-stained face had Sesshoumaru drawing Aki's tired body into his arms to rest against him. He could feel the heat pouring off her fevered skin through his borrowed clothing.

The torrent of words began again, muffled by his shirt. The taiyoukai could tell she was pleading with him about something. It was in the tone of her voice and the weak clenching of her hands around his neck as he lifted them both off the ground.

Sesshoumaru raised a questioning eyebrow at the male standing slightly in the room Aki had formerly been in.

Loki opened his mouth to answer the unspoken inquiry but was interrupted by Mouse's demand for an explanation.

"What's gong on here?" she demanded coldly. "Aki should be in bed," the healer stated firmly, ignoring her gathering audience. Data came running up behind her with Kaoru trailing him from wherever she's been hiding. Mouse pointed back into the room. "Put her back!" she commanded.

"No!" Aki's body went rigid and her voice became painfully shrill. "Not back in there! Don't lock me back in the white!" and from there she dissolved into multilingual incoherence accompanied with a fresh onslaught of tears and wracking hiccoughs and sobs.

Sesshoumaru didn't need her outburst or her claws pricking at him to know he wasn't putting Aki where Mouse wanted her because Sesshoumaru wasn't about to follow someone else's orders, especially when it concerned the woman in his arms. He began to growl, quietly enough to just tickle Aki's sensitive ears and intense enough to rock her frame soothingly, causing her to relax slightly against him.

"Oh Aki," Mouse breathed out, showing vivid emotion for the first time since he'd met her. "I didn't realize it bothered you this much, I mean I knew but…" the healer looked absolutely shame faced as she reached out to lay a comforting hand on the hysterical woman's shoulder.

Aki stiffened once again before letting out a soft sigh as Inuyasha whispered his promise that neither he nor Sesshoumaru would allow her to be placed back in that room again.

"So where else can we put her," Loki asked no one in particular.

"I don't know," Mouse said quietly, slowly getting over Aki's hysteria. "Much like a hospital, all the rooms here are white and sterile."

"I don't understand," Kaoru interrupted. "She never had a problem with the rooms before."

"Actually, she did," Mouse said evenly. "She was just more in control of her fear then because she was fully conscious and never left alone. Fred was always with her."

"That's all nice to know, but it doesn't solve our problem," Inuyasha ground out.

"You could put her in my room," Data, the forgotten, spoke quietly. "It's not white and definitely not sterile, but it is clean-" at Mouse's disbelieving look he added "-ish. We could turn the radio on low. Aki always said the right kind of music can be soothing."

"Sounds good to me, lead the way," Inuyasha nodded to the boy. Sesshoumaru and the dog boy moved to follow the other.

"Wait a minute," Mouse practically growled. "I'm the healer here! I don't recall approving this course of action!"

Two sets of golden eyes turned to glare at her. Mouse nearly swallowed with nervousness.

Data had to walk around the inu brothers to give Mouse a rather cutting glare of his own. "Do you have a better idea?" he practically taunted her, knowing she didn't.

Mouse sighed and shook her head as the three males immediately dismissed her and head towards their decided destination.


	8. Orgamozed Chaos

Teehee, yet another post! Aren't you all so glad?

We get to learn a little bit more about Data, some of it incredibly surprising. Loki and Sesshoumaru manage to get themselves in trouble once again and Mouse finally takes care of Aki's little scratch. I bet you all forgot about that, didn't you?

No worries or complaints to report this week. YOu didn't want to hear about it anyways. Nope, no more than you wanted to hear about the big break coming up after the end of this segment of the story. WEll too bad! Becuase I wanna talk about it. And remind you all that it's coming up. And it's going to be a bit long because I still have to finish writing the next part and then type it all up. But We're looking at about ten chapters for part 5.and if you're really desperate, you can chat with me on AIM. TerraLeeRose is the name, and I sometimes give out little hints. But you have to actually chat with me sometimes.

I bet Rumiko Takahashi would chat with me... More like yell at me through AIM for torturing her characters. heheh.

**Organized Chaos**

Aki was still curled up in Sesshoumaru's arms, her tears slowly drying in their tracks on her face. Sesshoumaru ran his claws gently through her hair in what he hoped was a soothing manner. Judging by the sigh that tickled his chin, it was.

The inu youkai glanced about the strange room that served as Data's private quarters. What made it so strange, aside from looking like somebody had murdered a Short Circuit robot in it, was the unusual shape of it. It looked like the architect had added the room simply to use up some left over space. Sesshoumaru thoughtt that the room would probably have been better suited to use as a storage room than the sleeping/work shop purpose it now served as.

And workshop it definitely was. The boy had bits and pieces of electronics and tools strewn over nearly every available surface. Data had actually had to remove pieces of his latest project from the space Sesshoumaru now occupied. It would seem Data's definition of his room being clean only involved be able to walk safely through it. The floor was littered with clothing and books, some of which the boy had likewise had to move upon arrival. But there was no dust. The clothing was recently washed and folded neatly despite its being on the floor. The books were stacked neatly and well cared for.

It was the first ordered chaos Sesshoumaru had ever seen, and to think Data had declared it a working system.

Aki had dismissed it all with a drowsy glance and a huge yawn before contentedly sinking back into unconsciousness, her fist firmly lodged in the hair behind his neck. Hence the reason why he was still blissfully wrapped around the sleeping female. It was rather embarrassing that he had to look for excuses to justify everything he did with or to the woman in his arms. But if he had to go slow, he could be patient.

So long as she was in sight there was no fear that something or someone could get to her before he did. As long as he extracted the promise that she would not allow another to fill the place in her life that he wanted for his own, he would have nothing to worry about. It was drawing the promise from Aki that was proving difficult. Every time the opportunity arose for him to ask, something intervened to ruin the situation. And everything had to be just right in order to ask without seeming to beg. He would not beg, he was taiyoukai, he didn't beg.

Besides Sesshoumaru was certain Aki wouldn't want a male that would beg for something she probably viewed as silly. He knew he probably wouldn't have wanted her if she begged for such a promise. One of the many things he liked and respected about her was her determination to do things despite not having everything she needed to get them done.

"How's she doing?" the strange boy asked as he reentered the room, a shiny circular object in his hand. Sesshouamru just watched him warily as he shifted Aki to a more comfortable position in his arms. She stirred briefly before emitting a sleepy "hmm" and resettling against him.

"I'm putting in some classical stuff with the volume turned down. Normally I wouldn't listen to this kind of stuff but Mouse bought for me when they were first reporting how certain kinds of music supposedly made you smarter," the boy chuckled softly as he fiddled with a box that just obediently ate the shiny disc. "Aki calls it snore music," Data laughed out loud as he remembered when Aki made that comment. It was what finally got Mouse off his back about the music he preferred, loud, brainless yelling to bad music as the healer had called it when she was feeling generous.

He wasn't lying; classical music wasn't his cup of tea. It was entirely to lame for his taste, but Data wasn't stupid. Aki needed rest, not a wake up call, whatever he played had to be quiet enough not to disturb her sleep and tame enough not to alarm her new comfort object. They were so close to each other he was certain that any tension in the body of one would easily be communicated to the other.

"What is she to you?" the taiyoukai spoke quietly, mindful of Loki's warning earlier.

Data blinked, Aki's giant comfort object was talking to him. Why would Aki's comfort object be talking to him? This was the first time Data had heard the tall inu youkai speak at all, much less to him. And what are the demon lord's first words to him? A demand for clarification of position.

Aki had always said to answer demands for information by acting dumb, or asking a question. At least, she said to do so with strangers, especially when the question was the first thing out of their mouth. She said it was the safest way to protect himself and everybody he knew.

Besides, Data had the distinct impression he wasn't going to like this guy. "She who?" Data asked smugly as he pretended to fiddle with the CD player some more. "There are a lot of 'she's in the building: Kaoru, Mouse, Aki, Silver, Jackie, Harmony, Kiki…" he trailed off when Aki's comfort object growled. The building really was a lot bigger than it looked. Still he wasn't really sure if the last two females were still in the building and Jackie was only a severely effeminate gay male, but he did get his point across.

"You and Aki insist on being entirely too particular about simple inquiries. And you both annoyingly answer questions with questions," the inu youkai groused, barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Data almost laughed both at the statement and in pleasant surprise. The boy was pleased to have been compared to Aki. She was his favorite person, after all. Sesshoumaru began again, "What is Aki to you?" he nearly sighed at the, to his mind, unneeded repetition of the question.

"It depends," Data answered vaguely. "What kind of answer are you looking for? Mental, emotional, instinctual…romantic?" Data finished delighted with the growl he received at the last word. A wicked grin settled over his features as he turned to look at the pureblooded inu youkai sitting on his futon. "Mentally and intellectually I recognize her as an intelligent, kind, and generous woman that has a lot to teach me. She is a teacher from experience. Emotionally, she is my favorite person; I view her like family, Kind of an eccentric aunt who visits once a month. Instinctually," here the boy's eyes began to dilate as he delved into the workings of his private beast and primitive motivations. "Instinctually, I recognize her to be a female more powerful than myself who is also suffering through a great deal of pain. That's where it gets confusing. My youkai can't decide whether to lock her away from pain and protect her until she is better or attacking her in her weakened condition. It's even more confusing because I know both are wrong." Sesshoumaru held Aki a little tighter in alarm, the boy was mad. "Aki already knows this."

That made the elder youkai pause. Aki knew? The female was crazier than he thought.

"When I first met Aki, my instincts were continually pulling me in different directions. I physically was unable to spend much time with her before I would lose control. Aki wasn't blind; she noticed my trouble though she didn't know why I had this problem. I started to avoid her, which wasn't hard with her gone through the well so much," Data grinned nostalgically. "Aki noticed that too, and it didn't make sense. I was developing medical instrumentation specifically for her. She cornered me in the Big Room for full youkai and forced me to react."

"You attacked her," Sesshoumaru stated tightening his hold on the female in his arms even more.

"I was trapped in a room with something that made me extremely uneasy," Data defended himself. "Of course I attacked her, not even you would've been able to avoid acting the same way." The boy shifted uncomfortably under the older demon's cold stare. "Well in any case, Aki found out what my problem was. She instinctively took care of the problem." The youth snorted, "She kicked my ass rather soundly. Now I know on an instinctual level, that even when she's wounded and weakened she's still stronger than me, still quite capable of painting the walls with me. So the issue has basically become defunct. I'm not strong enough to take her out even when she's injured and I can't protect her from anything that could actually harm her." Data shifted and looked away. "Don't get me wrong, the instincts are still there, the clamor just isn't as confusing anymore."

Sesshoumaru looked down at Aki's sleeping face and wondered if she had known there was no other way to alleviate Data's problem.

Data looked back at the demon holding his favorite person and bit back a laugh as he remembered the rest of the answer he was giving. "As for my romantic interest in Aki," here the demon lord growled and his eyes flashed red briefly, "there is none. Courting Aki would be like kissing my baby sister. It just isn't something I'm into. I'm no pedophile."

"Aki is no child," Sesshoumaru stated firmly.

"Oh yeah, then what am I?" Data asked.

"A child, a youth," the inu youkai replied with conviction.

"Then Aki is a child."

Sesshouamru growled wildly. It amazed some locked away logical part of his brain how fragile his renowned control had become. Here he was forgetting himself and allowing the words of some impertinent, albeit highly intelligent, brat provoke him.

"I may not look it, but I am forty years older than her," Data informed him deliberately stressing the age. "She wasn't even a gleam in her father's eye when I was born. Hell her human parents hadn't even been born yet."

"Then why does she appear older than you?" Sesshoumaru challenged the information.

"Because she's a later breed on the evolutionary scale. The more recent a demon was born the faster a demon reaches physical maturity, it's a survival tactic somewhat tied to the human blood diluting our heritage. Every once in a while somebody's born without this particular trait," Data explained. "That'd be someone like me, which is part of the reason I'm stuck here living with the torture of Mouse's good intentions," he made a face indicating what he thought of that.

The sound of soft, tired chuckling filled the room. "You wouldn't know what to do without her and you know it!"

The inu youkai glanced down at Aki to find her yawning hugely and attempting to disengage her hand from his hair to finish her stretch. She frowned sleepily up at him as the crimp in his hair caused by her unconscious grip made the silver tresses twist and tangle around her fingers.

Data laughed as he got up to help her tug the appendage free. "You are such a kid," the child-like demon teased her fondly.

"And you're a cantankerous old fart," Aki mumbled back as Sesshoumaru growled at the approach of the other male. "Granted you're nowhere near as bad or as old as this demon right here." She distractedly tried to move into a better angle to work her hand free. Her body still shook with her earlier weakness when she tried to move, so Sesshoumaru helped to lift her where she wanted. Hell, she was moving closer so he wasn't complaining.

Data stopped at the inu youkai's growl and glared at him. Really, he was just trying to help Aki.

Aki sleepily gave up, deciding it wasn't worth the effort when she wasn't really uncomfortable and Sesshoumaru didn't seem upset by it. She finally allowed her straining muscles to relax and began to doze off.

"Data!" Mouse's voice suddenly broke the ambiance created by the classical music causing Aki to jump back into wakefulness with a groaning protest. "Why are you still in here?" the healer demanded, her tone about as sharp as the blunt end of a hammer.

"Why wouldn't I be here? It's my room," Data stretched distractedly and began to retreat to the corner most filled with electronic doo-dads.

"Data!" the child-like youkai ducked at her tone. "Out!"

"You're kicking me out of my own room?" Data asked incredulously.

"Don't make me repeat myself."

"I don't believe this! This is my room!"

"Should've thought of that before you offered it for a sick room," Mouse calmly pointed out.

"Oh for crying out loud! Either both of you shut up or _I'm_ leaving!" Aki declared.

"Oh good you're up," Mouse commented with purpose. Sesshoumaru looked at the white demon askance. She didn't actually believe anyone could sleep through all that, did she?

"Now I don't have to wake you."

That statement earned a snort from Data who promptly received a fierce glare. "All right, I'm going, I'm going!" he exclaimed and wandered out the door all the while mumbling under his breath about the injustice of the world.

"Yes, I'm awake," Aki sat up with a burst of annoyed energy, finally pulling her hand free of Sesshoumaru's hair. "Did you want something Mouse?"

"Just thought we should take a shot at getting that scrape to stop bleeding."

"And I needed to be awake for that?" Aki raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Normally, no," Mouse conceded, "but I had a few things to say to you about it."

"And you had to go over it now?" Aki grumbled in annoyance.

"How long do you think I can keep this room clear?" Mouse asked incredulously. This time it was her eyebrow that headed north. "Once people find out you're awake, they'll start piling in here to ask if you're alright. After that it'll be impossible to tend to that scratch because Mr. Rainbows-and-sunshine here isn't likely to let me under your shirt with everybody in here.

Sesshoumaru growled at her condescending reference to his person, but had to admit her supposition was correct.

"I see your point," Aki sighed tiredly. "So what ideas did you come up with?"

"Does it matter?" Mouse narrowed her eyes at the bleeding female still encased in the inu youkai's arms. "No matter what it is we're going to try it. You've been bleeding nonstop for the last 24 hours or so. That's bad news whether the wound is small or not."

It was Aki's turn to growl, she didn't need a lecture! Sesshoumaru's hold on her tightened warningly, it seems he thought she needed the lecture.

"Lucky for you I'm an experienced healer or you might be stuck with just Sesshoumaru's suggested solutions," Mouse continued, ignoring the taiyoukai's displeased growl. "I came up with this," the white demon held up a small vial of clear liquid.

"And what is that?" Aki gave the appropriate response. She really didn't care what it was, but knew Mouse wouldn't let her go back to sleep until the whole to do was over. Mouse would have her fake little dramas. Aki cursed Data for introducing the healer to daytime television. Now every visit was a Soap Opera.

"This," Mouse shook the vial, "is distilled inu youkai saliva combined with a small amount of Band-Aid brand liquid band aid."

"So you want to paint my shoulder with," Aki fought to keep her face straight and failed with a yawn, "dog spit and liquid band aid."

"Inu youkai, not dog," Mouse corrected. "More specifically the coagulant found in the saliva of the canine youkai." The healer settled herself in front of Sesshoumaru, firmly pressing Aki's front against the demon as she moved the female's shirt to expose her injured shoulder and bra.

"So exactly where did you get this dog drool, again?" Aki asked purposely ignoring Mouse's correction. "Who did you find that was willing to donate a sample for use in a bandage?"

Mouse removed the sterilized swab she'd stashed in the pocket of her sleeve and opened the bottle of her homemade remedy. As soon as the cap was removed it released the damning scent into the room.

Sesshoumaru growled as he pulled Aki away from the saturated cotton ball tip. No one was going to put anything that smelled of the hanyou on her while he had anything to say about it.

"Would you hold still," Mouse demanded to which the inu youkai only growled louder. "What is your problem?"

"It smells like Inuyasha," Aki's muffled voice informed her. She was desperately trying to stifle the giddy laughter the situation filled her with. How did Mouse get Inuyasha's saliva anyway?

"So?" Mouse demanded.

"So Sesshoumaru doesn't exactly like his brother," Aki continued.

"What does that have to do with me healing you?" Mouse asked, seeing the whole issue as being very childish. Of course she wasn't actually going to say so.

"Hanyou," Sesshoumaru growled shortly and Aki stiffened. He was still hung up on Inuyasha's human blood? What does that say for Aki? She was part human, in more ways than one.

Aki dismissed the thought for the time being as Mouse rebutted the taiyoukai's objection. "Hanyou or not, the required chemical is still there, and the potency of it is not an issue because I distilled it. It is as pure as it gets. It should be effective once applied. Now stop moving around and let me do my job."

The taiyoukai growled viciously, "It still smells like the bastard!"

Aki rolled her eyes, she was still tired and their argument was getting on her nerves. She gave a petulant growl of her own and shoved away from Sesshoumaru's chest hard enough to break his hold. She swung a hand back to lay her forefinger on the bottle and released a little puff of purifying energy before either could react.

"There, now it's settled. Can we please get this over with?" she turned her shoulder back to the healer. Inuyasha's scent had died a sudden unexpected death in the room. It was replaced with a strong scent that only Sesshoumaru could identify.

Aki's scent had never been so strong. He was so enraptured with the surprise he barely reacted when Mouse again pressed the female to his chest. He even missed part of their argument.

"…I even know all my work hasn't just been ruined by what you just did?" Mouse grumbled.

"I didn't remove anything, just got rid of the smell," Aki replied into his shoulder.

"What if you purified the coagulant right out of the solution?" Mouse continued.

Aki sighed in annoyance, "Then you apply it now and test it to your heart's content afterwards. If it's not there we just get to do this all over again later, no big loss, I just get more sleep."

Mouse clicked her tongue in disapproval as she finished up and left the room.

Aki rubbed the bridge of her noise and mumbled. "Sometimes I'm glad I can't have kids." She expelled the breath in her lungs tiredly and slumped against his front. The female subconsciously rubbed her cheek over his shoulder, futilely attempting to soothe his reaction to her words.

Sesshoumaru's shoulders relaxed slowly. He wasn't certain what bothered him more, her repeated allusions to her inability to conceive or her sudden comparison of himself to an errant child she did not want. Despite his confusion he pulled her closer and rested his cheek against the crown of her head. His clawed hand, with a will of its own, began dragging though her long hair, gently raking up clouds of her gentle scent as it grew more and more faint.

Aki relaxed bonelessly in his arms with a tuneless hum of contentment. "If I were any more shallow I might have fallen in love with you just for holding me like this," the girl drowsily mumbled.

"If you could love me for such small things we wouldn't be sitting here like this," Sesshoumaru replied around the gentle warmth of her, "and you most assuredly would not be wearing so many clothes."

He felt more than saw the slow sadness of her smile, "If I could love you for such small things, you would be well on your path to the afterlife with Inuyasha, Kagome, Kagome's mom, brother, grandfather and uncle close on your heals." Aki sighed tiredly; "It is probably a good thing I am not so easily swayed."

Sesshoumaru tensed, "Why would the rest have anything to do with it?"

Aki expelled her breath with feeling, "Inuyasha because he is connected to you by blood, Kagome and Kagome's family because Inuyasha loves Kagome and it wouldn't stop there," Aki pushed him away to catch his eye. "It would spread to Sango Miroku, and Shippou, Rin and Azusa, and Kaede. It would spread until there's nothing left but me to watch."

Sesshoumaru stared into the darkness of her eyes feeling them draw him down into the abyss left in the wake of her curse to where he found the broken little girl screaming out her loneliness and pain. Then Aki closed her eyes in a light doze and locked him out, only now he knew that in locking him and the rest of their world out she locked herself in, alone. He had never truly appreciated how much her strength, her seeming detachment, cost her. He pulled her flush against his chest, tucking her head under his chin.

"She's so very strong, yet so very broken," Inuyasha commented, his ears flicked forward as he peeked through the partially open door. The taiyoukai blinked to clear the raw, pained look from his eyes. "How can she stand it?"

"She is not completely broken," Sesshoumaru corrected him.

Inuyasha knelt down in front of his brother and Aki. He reached out and gently ran his own hand over her hair. Sesshoumaru's growl caused the hanyou to growl back. "She is my sister, you stuck up block of ice, and has been since long before you took an interest in her."

"You can't expect me to believe she agreed to that," the youkai lord growled quietly.

Inuyasha smirked, "She didn't have a choice in the matter. She needed a family to look after her and worry about her, and I decided to form one around her because she wouldn't."

"What would lead you to…"

"Her smiles were fake. In a strange moment of clarity I saw that much and figured the rest out," Inuyasha interrupted the older male.

"You glimpsed what was underneath," the young lord uttered in no small amount of surprise.

"Not to the extent that you have I'm sure," Inuyasha continued to finger comb Aki's hair. "I think that in some small way we have all sensed a piece of it, but she hides it so well I doubt that even Fred knows the full impact of her losses."

Sesshoumaru allowed his cheek to rub over the crown of her head.

"There you are!" A feminine voice accused from the hallway causing Inuyasha to jump. His eyes shot round the room desperately look for somewhere to hide. The pink haired bane of his existence walked in behind him and latched onto his left ear. "Come on, you can help run errands with me," she informed him over the hanyou's pained yelp. "Maybe by the time we're done we can go pick up Kagome from school."

"Where's Loki?" Aki's amused voice questioned the entrepreneur.

"Business," Kaoru informed her shortly. "Wow, Aki, there might be hope for you yet! I didn't realize you participated in threesomes with brothers on the other side of the well."

Aki snorted tiredly, "It's completely against my will, I tell you.

"Then you won't mind if I borrow one for my own purposes," Kaoru reached down and seized Inuyasha's arm to haul him up on his feet.

"It doesn't bother me much, but you really should take it up with him," Aki attempted to shrug and failed; Sesshoumaru's hold restricted such movement.

"Maybe I should take them both then, I'm sure I can find something for them to do. I mean, since you won't be in need of either one of them for a while. You are supposed to be resting after all," Kaoru teased merrily eyeing Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru didn't need to hear Aki's response. He wasn't going to leave, could not be convinced she didn't need him, and she couldn't make him let go, so he really didn't need to hear her words. He likewise didn't want to listen to her attempts to convince him otherwise. So, the taiyoukai stopped the flow of words at the source. He pressed a toe-curling, firework-filled, mind-numbing kiss on Aki's very kissable mouth.

"Oh gods!" Inuyasha groaned in exaggerated disgust. "Get me out of here! I don't need to see this!"

"Wow!" Kaoru practically squealed like a schoolgirl. "I want one!" Whatever else she might have said was cut off as Inuyasha pointedly hurried her down the hall.

It was some minutes before Sesshoumaru finally released Aki's lips to let her breath. Immediately the female slumped against his chest panting to refill her straining lungs. "You," Aki gasped out quietly, "are bad for my health!"

Sesshoumaru only nuzzled her cheek quietly before shifting her so they could both lounge more comfortably. He began to growl low in his chest pitched just right to encourage Aki's descent into slumber.

The taiyoukai tenderly drew his calloused thumb over the wispy lines of her eyebrows. He studied the delicate features of her face and immediately felt her slipping away like wind. He tightened his arm around her waist and rubbed his cheek along hers. She made him desperate to lock her away from the rest of the world. Deep down he was just a selfish little pup afraid of being left without her.

He double-checked that she truly was unconscious as he sucked down more of her scent. Sesshoumaru hoped she would never find out, that she would never see this needy insecure part of him. Taiyoukai had to be above need and insecurity. Weakness, an opening for his enemies to exploit, all the ambitious and ruthless would sniff it out and use it. He used to abhor weakness before it had a face, a name, a voice. He'd hated it and it still snuck into his life and proved to be a sharper double-edged sword than any weapon his foes could use.

Since he'd come across Aki he'd learned there were many kinds of weakness, all of which could be exploited. In his time with and without Aki, Sesshoumaru had learned he'd had the worst kind of weakness. He was lonely and proud.

His loneliness. A cynical laugh sounded in his mind. It was his own fault. In his efforts to ensure there was no one that could be used against him he had created a void around himself where no one stood. No friends, no lovers, not even what was left of his family was allowed inside the void. In what he had thought would be his greatest strength grew his greatest most exploitable weakness. Sesshoumaru had found himself entirely too susceptible to forming strong attachment to anyone that spent some time without trying to harm him. First Rin, then Aki and he was now finding himself growing closer to his younger brother and his group. Hell, he even missed the prattle of Aki's pet ghost.

And sadly, because there were so few that held his affection, he was desperate to keep them. He could so easily be broken by even one of them coming to harm or leaving for good. To lose Rin, to lose Aki, would leave him broken on the floor. Therein lie his greatest weakness. He was lucky in his loneliness to have been found by them and not some plot of his more devious rivals.

Sesshoumaru should be grateful, he supposed. Grateful that Rin was young enough to be kept close and under constant watch. He should be grateful that Aki was so terribly independent and capable of taking care of herself. He should be grateful that Inuyasha and his friends work well as a team and took care of each other. But he found himself wishing Aki needed him more. He wished Rin was a bit older and stronger and he wished Inuyasha and his friends were better able to stand as individuals in case they ever got caught without the others. Funny he wished Aki was weaker and the rest were stronger.

As much as he wanted her close, his pride wouldn't allow him to declare his need. As hard as he worked to track her down his own arrogance kept pushing her away. She was evidence of his weakness. She was food for it and Aki simply by being herself, illustrated how his own pride could be used against him, but more especially against her. In his pride he had cut her away from him with thoughtless words, eliminating what little headway he might have made with her before then.

He was drawn from his thoughts by the anonymous clicking sound the little music box made as the music ceased.

"What are you doing in here with Aki?" a voice broke the silence created after the music's cessation. "I left specific instructions that you were not to be left alone with Aki!" Loki said angrily.

Sesshoumaru disentangled himself from his lovely distraction and stalked across the room to growl at the younger, weaker male. "What right have you to dictate who spends time alone with her?" the inu youkai demanded.

Loki snorted, "On this side of the city I protect Aki. It's my turf," the youth gave his own growl. "Considering that being alone with you is what put her in this condition, you're lucky I said you could be anywhere near her at all!"

"What makes you think you can tell this Sesshoumaru what he can do?" the taller male slipped into his lordly persona. This pup obviously didn't realize that _he_ ruled the land at his feet.

Aki rolled over and cracked open an eye. She silently snarled as she shoved herself onto her feet, swaying gently before recovering her balance. She glared at the two males posturing loudly when she was supposed to be sleeping. And what pray tell was so very important that it demanded their devout attention? Nothing more than their idiotic need to prove who was alpha. Fine. If they wanted to duke it out, that was their prerogative, but that didn't mean she had to be witness to it. And nothing said she had to necessarily care how it turned out.

Aki's eyes hardened as she strode across the room and out the door latching on to an ear of both to drag them with her. She hauled them down the hall to one of the Big Rooms normally reserved for larger youkai. The female threw them both inside before stepping in herself.

Aki closed her eyes and called her youki to pool around her. It came slowly due to her fatigue but she could still feel it tugging at her hair as she felt her ears migrating across her head. She felt her wings unfurl. She could feel her tail as all her senses heightened. Then she opened her eyes and turned to Loki. The look she sent him was reproachful as she shoved him with her youki, silently telling him she could protect herself.

Loki fell back into the wall behind him as he stared at her stunned. She'd grown in strength and skill since the last time he'd seen her like this. Then she'd had no idea what or who she had become, that wasn't the case anymore.

Aki then turned to Sesshoumaru. She'd had quite enough of his childish behavior already. She was tired and angry and she let it all show on her face as she slapped her power his way as well. She didn't say anything as he stepped back in surprise.

Then the exhausted female turned on her heel and exited the room slamming the door behind her, ensuring it locked firmly. There was no way either one of them was getting out until someone let them. The room had been built to withstand the full, uncontrolled rage of a pureblood youkai transformed.

Aki sighed before going back down the hall to curl up on the floor of Data's room, decidedly quieter and definitely more tired.


	9. Immaturity Abounds

ah, the relief of your addiction with another dose of fanfiction. you were waiting for this, admit it.

At this point in time I would simply like to say... I HATE SNOW! thank you.

Seriously, what kind of a self-respecting form of precipitation is snow? EVery other form of precipitation travels in a straight line. Rain comes down either completely perpindicular to the ground or at a slight angle. Hail comes straight down. Sleet comes straight down. But not snow. Oh no, snow Floats.

And what other form of precipitation sticks around and bleaches out the landscape. Too much rain browns the world with mud, but even that doesn't diminish the power of the green. even still, Rain doesn't take Months to disappear. Neither does Hail or even sleet. Only snow is so obnoxious.

Just a thought... Bet you never thought about it.

Guess what! In recent weeks I have managed to pick up 2 new reviewers. One of whom is actually making it a habit to review each chapter just like White Alchemist Taya. Kaikie, You rock! (The other I couldn't respond to privately because FFN didn't consider it a signed review, oh well.)

Rumiko Takahashi probably hadn't either.

P.S. There are only two more chapters until this part it done, and then you poor souls will have to deal with static until I get the next part finished up. Oh the nightmares you'll have... WEll deal with it, I've posted faithfully for nearly a year thus far. I'm taking a minor required vacation so to speak.

**Immaturity Abounds**

Kagome was coming to realize that life happened when she was stuck in school, and it wasn't the dull kind of life either. No, it was the really interesting kind of life that reality TV never quite manages to capture but tries really hard to compete with.

"I can't believe I missed all that while I was at school!" Kagome exclaimed, finding it difficult to understand. "You guys actually pushed Aki into utter collapse, relocated her to some mysterious youkai hospital, where she had a nervous breakdown because she was left alone in a sterile white room. And all before lunchtime." Kagome shook her head; "It's a wonder she puts up with any of us after what our good intentions have done to her."

"Hey!" Kaoru interrupted indignantly. "I'm not responsible for the stupidity of others while I'm not present!"

"Oh yeah?" Inuyasha began harshly, "Well what about you blatantly going against what Loki ordered. You left her alone with Sesshoumaru."

"So did you," Kaoru defended herself.

"I don't follow Loki's orders," Inuyasha returned.

"Neither do I!"

"Yeah, but I don't have to put up with his wrath after I go back home," Inuyasha was sure to point out. There wouldn't really be much in the way of repercussions for his ignoring Loki's supposed rule. Kaoru on the other hand…

"I hate you!" Kaoru glowered at the hanyou.

"Would you two knock it off!" Kagome grumbled. "I can't believe you two are older than me! My brother acts more grown up than either of you!" the ninth grader declared as she pushed open the door to the strange building.

"He does not!" Inuyasha hollered indignantly. "Though he certainly seems to be more responsible than you!"

"You take that back, fat head!" Kagome screeched.

"What did you call me!"

"A fat head, you fat head!"

"My head is not fat!"

"Oh you're right, it's not your head that's fat it's your stupid ego!" Kagome yelled back.

"My ego is not stupid!"

"Ha! You're defending your ego and you don't even know what it is!"

"Shut up!" Inuyasha shouted, having nothing more clever to say.

"Children!" Kaoru yelled over the both of them. The ensuing silence was absolute. The enterprising female continued after a moment. "The rooms here may be sound proofed, but sound is only completely blocked if the door is completely closed and Aki's door wasn't."

Inuyasha blinked before he hung his head, but Kagome still didn't understand. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Aki was supposed to be resting and all the noise you guys were making may well have disturbed her sleep," Data answered before Kaoru could.

Kagome's eyes slowly grew to the size of saucers as a feverish gleam alighted inside them. In less than three seconds Kagome was down the hall and glomped onto the little male. "He's so cute!" she squealed.

"Ah! Get her off!" Data fairly screamed. This was one of the main reasons he hated going out in public. Everybody thought he was some cute little boy, but this instance may well be a lot worse. Kagome was all but claimed by the hanyou growling at him down the hall. "Help!"

Almost immediately Aki was behind him, wrapping her arms soothingly around his shoulders as she gently removed the dumbfounded teenager from his person. "Hello Kagome," Aki said quietly, her eyes slightly hooded to hide the remnants of her fatigue. "Data, this is Kagome. Kagome, this is Data my dear child-like, granther-aged medical technician."

"Eh?" Kagome asked in confusion as the words slowly seeped into her brain. "Ah, I'm terribly sorry," the girl flushed scarlet in embarrassment. "I'm still not used to seeing youkai on my side of the well," she offered in apology.

"It's okay, I just don't like to be touched," Data tried to reassure her gently as Aki removed her comforting touch.

"You don't mind the touch so much as the suddenness of it from strangers," Kaoru reached out to ruffle his hair.

Data growled ferally as he ducked from her hand. "Don't touch!"

Aki turned away from the group to walk sedately down the hall, the tips of her wings dragging feathers on the smooth floor.

"Oi, what happened to you and where's Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha called after her. The only response he received was an annoyed growl and Data's sardonic laughter. "What do you know?" he demanded from the shorter male.

"Sesshoumaru and Loki have both been put in time out," he blinked, "Or in prison depending on how you look at it." The demented little youkai cackled gleefully.

"What?" Kagome asked flabbergasted.

Data shrugged, "Nobody's precisely sure how they ended up where they are or why, but most of us figure Aki had something to do with it and that it happened shortly after you guys left and Loki returned."

"But that was hours ago!" Kaoru exclaimed in disbelief.

Data nodded, "yep, and they're still right where Aki left them."

"Why didn't somebody let them out?" Kagome asked feeling slightly sympathetic towards the two males locked up somewhere in the bowels of the building. "Better yet, why didn't they break out on their own?"

"The room Aki left them in was designed to withstand the full rage of a powerful demon lost to the power of their instincts so that they could not harm their fellow patients," Data explained. "The reason they were not immediately released is because nobody knew they were there in the first place."

"But you know now," Inuyasha pointed out.

Data rolled his eyes, "They were put there by Aki for a reason. We don't need the room right now so Mouse and I figured it wouldn't hurt anything to leave them where they were." Data suppressed a sadistic grin, "Besides, they're entertaining to watch. Neither of them is aware that people know where they are and watching them."

"I don't like the sound of that," Kagome mumbled with unease.

"Don't worry," Kaoru assured her. "Mouse won't let them hurt each other too much."

"Actually," Data decided to rain on her parade. "We'd probably wait until they knocked each other unconscious or incapable of bolting before doing anything. Then we'd go in, patch them up and leave before they can get out. Aki put them there and there they'll stay until she decides to let them out." His boyish face took on a look of mischief, "I was just going to ask Aki if I could tease them about it."

"I thought Aki was supposed to be resting after her collapse this morning," Kaoru said.

"She was, but we've found she's recovering a bit more quickly now that she's removed the bracelets and called her youkai features to bare," the voice of the pale healer floated down the hall.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha asked, pretty sure what Mouse had just said was something good but wanting to make absolutely certain even so.

"It means that the only way Aki could be in better shape now would be if she wasn't curse," Mouse replied as she continued to approach them. "Her main problems at this moment still include the un-healing gash, curse and some small amount of fatigue, but nothing like the debilitating exhaustion of before. Her fever is gone and her nervous system is not currently demonstrating any of the effects that arose this morning upon her collapse."

"So basically she's just as she was yesterday?" Kagome asked for clarification.

"For all accounts and purposes, yes," the healer replied not really needing introductions since everybody present already knew what was going on.

"Great! That means Aki's still cooking dinner," Kaoru hummed with delight.

"What did you pick up for her to make?" Data asked eagerly.

"I figured we hadn't had Italian for a while so," Kaoru motioned to her bag of groceries.

"Awesome!" Data Exclaimed. "I can't wait. Aki's cooking's the best!"

"You're making Aki cook?" Kagome was horrified. "Wasn't she brought here after a collapse?"

"Actually, Aki always insists on cooking," Kaoru soothed the girl. "Aki usually makes a quick and full recovery. She likes to extend her rare visits with Mouse and Data as long as possible for various reasons. Taking the time to actually cook a meal and then eat it with a group of people is a pleasant and plausible way to do it."

"Besides," Data cut in, "She's a safer cook than Tuck, who can't stand to spend any amount of time around Mouse anyway. When Aki found out how lousy a cook Mouse is – ow!" Mouse tugged on his ear blandly in reprimand. The boyish youkai glowered at his caregiver and grumbled petulantly under his breath.

"At any rate, Aki would've insisted upon cooking for us anyway," Mouse released Data's ear. "I think she enjoys cooking for us so we shouldn't over analyze it."

"Back to the subject of Sesshoumaru and Loki," Inuyasha spoke up.

"From what I've pieced together through watching them and the state Aki was in when I last checked on her before they were locked up, it appears they chose to have a pissing contest while she was trying to sleep," Mouse informed him dryly.

"A what?" Inuyasha blinked, he really wished some of the strange phrases could be weeded out of his most recent conversations; he didn't like feeling dumb.

"It's a phrase indicating an informal competition for dominance," Kaoru explained.

"Oh," Inuyasha replied. "Anybody know what started it?" Struggles for dominance he understood.

"My guess," Data began, "it had something to do with Loki's orders demanding Sesshoumaru not be left alone with Aki."

Inuyasha thought for a minute, "Yeah, that would do it."

"But it's unlike Sesshoumaru to fly off the handle over something so small," Kagome protested.

"Actually, when it comes to Aki it doesn't," Inuyasha corrected her.

"Plus several things have happened this morning to put him on edge," Kaoru reminded the girl.

"I guess so," Kagome mumbled absently. "Still, it was something so small, shouldn't we let them out?"

"Come ask her yourself if you're so concerned," Mouse turned to the lead the way.

"I'd rather go laugh at Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha mumbled and Data shared a conspiratorial laugh with him.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said sharply, instantly sobering the hanyou. "So where did Aki go?' she changed the subject abruptly.

"They had to stash her in Data's room," Kaoru answered. "Aki has a problem with sterile white medical rooms."

"Can't say I've ever heard of that," Kagome began thoughtfully.

"You have you just hadn't heard of it expressed that way," Data declared. "A lot of people just say they don't like hospitals, when really it's more specific than that. Aki chooses to be very specific. She doesn't mind Hospitals so long as she's not shut up in the sterile white rooms all by her-"

"Data!" Mouse interrupted him sharply.

The youthful youkai jumped at the hidden spur in the healer's voice. Aki's fears were not to be discussed until the woman revealed them herself.

"I stand bewildered and corrected," Kagome nodded to close the subject as they drew to a stop beside a door that was slightly ajar.

Mouse offered the girl an indulgent smile before pressing the door open.

"What did you do to my room?" Data managed to gasp in horror. The floor was completely cleared of everything, the stacks of books and clothes, his tools and various projects, all missing.

"I would think it was obvious," Mouse offered dryly. "She cleaned this room."

"It _was_ clean!" Data all but screamed. "I'll never find anything now!"

"Then maybe you'll rethink the next time you laugh at somebody else's predicament," Aki spoke softly from her repose on the floor. "Especially when they are forbidden from doing the same to you." She cracked an eye open to send him a reproachful look.

"But," Data whine, "But my room. And I finally got it the way I wanted."

Aki rolled her eyes, "Tools are there, clothes put where they go and books stacked right there." All the places she indicated were outside the visible range of a person standing in the hallway. In all honesty she hadn't really cleaned, just shoved everything out of sight of the doorway. It wasn't neat; it wasn't really organized, just really pushed to the side. Her little brothers would have been so proud.

The sadness such a though normally would've engendered was cut down before it could take root. Company'll do that for you, especially noisy, nosy company.

"If this is what it looks like half cleaned I'd hate to see what it looked like before," Kagome mumbled.

"Thank you," Mouse said with subtle triumph. "What it was before couldn't possibly be considered clean by any stretch of the imagination."

"Oh shut up," Data grumbled.

"Actually it was merely cluttered," Aki declared mildly.

"See? Aki gets it," Data grinned at his pale housemate.

Mouse just snorted and looked away.

"If you're ready to get started," Kaoru broke in, "I bought stuff for dinner."

"Don't worry there's no Ramen," Kagome beamed.

"Keh," Inuyasha pouted.

"Like anyone would be stupid enough to waste Aki's cooking on such utter crap," Data declared.

"What am I making then?" Aki stood up fluidly. Her wings and tail had been banished to invisibility so she could move within the confines of the building with more ease. She'd found it a necessity when she'd tried to move Data's stuff around.

"Italian," Kaoru chirped happily. "I figured we hadn't had it for a while."

Aki nodded congenially, "Sounds good to me, and I actually feel hungry for a change."

Kaoru blinked, "Maybe Mouse had better check you over again. That's certainly not normal."

"You'd rather I don't cook?" Aki asked.

"She's fine! Clean bill of health and all that," Data yelled mock desperately. "Let me walk you to the kitchen."

Kaoru chuckled and whispered, "Never mess with that boy's food."

"Kaoru!" Mouse warned sternly.

"I got it, I got it," the businesswoman waved her away. Her visit wouldn't be complete if she didn't get at least one warning.

"Aki," Kagome called down the hall. "Could we let Loki and Sesshoumaru out?"

Aki paused and seemed to consider Kagome's words very carefully before giving her decision. "If they're done with their stupid posturing I suppose we can." Then she turned to continue on her way and stopped again. "On second thought, go ahead and let them out either way. Kaoru, do you think you can properly scold Loki down to two inches in height?" the American asked gently. "I'll take care of Sesshoumaru."

"You want me to scold Loki?" Kaoru asked incredulously. "Why would what I say matter? You're the one who knows what he's in trouble for."

"It sounded like you all had it figured out before," Aki assured her. "And Loki cares what you think of him, he'll listen. If he gives you trouble just threaten to force him out in public with full make up and braided hair." Aki returned to her quest for dinner without looking back.

"She's right you know," Inuyasha told Kaoru. "Loki's obviously considering you to mate."

Kaoru sucked her teeth, "stuff and nonsense."

Mouse just shook her head silently as she led the way to Loki and Sesshoumaru's prison. Kaoru wasn't likely to consider Inuyasha's words as more than hot air blown to inflate her confidence towards effectively scolding Loki.

Inuyasha greatly disliked having his words brushed aside so easily, especially when he knew he was right. He almost growled at the pink haired female, but Kagome soothed him with a hand on his arm and a soft smile. She shook her head gently just before Mouse stopped in front of yet another door.

"Wow," Kaoru breathed. "Aki must have been pissed. She picked the room farthest from where you were likely to look. How long _did_ it take you to find them here?"

"Not as long as if might have, I had some test to run in the second lab down the hall," Mouse answered. "Otherwise it could've taken days."

"What could you possibly be running in the second lab?" Kaoru asked as Mouse opened the reinforced door.

"Nothing I'd care to disclose just now," Mouse replied.

"Where's Aki!" Sesshoumaru demanded.

"You leave her alone, you pompous assho-" Loki's voice sounded rather irritated.

"Loki!" Kaoru's eyes ignited. "That's quite enough out of you!"

Loki's eyes widened in horror. Kaoru looked quite ready to skin him alive. This couldn't possibly be good for his chances of getting the pink haired entrepreneur to fall for him.

Kaoru took a menacing step forward and Loki backpedaled. Women were unpredictable creatures, especially when angry.

"I'm afraid I'll need to borrow this room a little longer Mouse. It's bound to get noisy and I might get a little blood on the walls," Kaoru growled to the healer following Loki's retreat. "I'll try to contain the mess, but you know how Loki is. His phenomenal stupidity will hinder his ability to learn his lesson and I may have to beat it into him."

Mouse just nodded mildly and shut the door gently.

"They're not locked in there are they?" Kagome asked with worry.

"Not quite, though Loki may as well be," the healer answered and turned back down the hall.

"Hey where'd Sesshoumaru go?" Kagome asked in surprise.

"After Aki, where else?" Inuyasha pointed down the hall where the last of the older inu youkai's hair was disappearing around a corner. "And he just ran into Data out side his room," the hanyou's ear twitched.

Data was muttering under his breath about domineering cooks and messed up rooms. It would take him months to get everything straightened out again. He really wasn't paying attention until claws grabbed the front of his clothing and lifted him off his feet.

"Where is Aki?" came the gruff demand.

Oh this he didn't like, how dare this puffed up arrogant piece of ancient history exploit his height without explanation or cause! Data glared at the golden eyes narrowed down at him. "Not with me, obviously," Data grumbled angrily.

"Put him down immediately!" a voice Sesshoumaru recognized as Mouse's floated down the hallway. "Aki is still in the building you fool. It would be terribly difficult to find her after you've been thrown out!" the healer issued her icy threat.

Sesshoumaru turned and dropped Data with a frustrated growl. His eyes flashed briefly red before narrowing on them.

"She's in the kitchen," Inuyasha grumbled.

Kagome rolled her eyes, "It's that way," the girl pointed. "Follow the smell of food, that's what I would do."

"We aren't dogs!" Inuyasha growled. "We're dog demons!"

"I didn't say you were dogs, stupid!" Kagome yelled at the dog boy. "I said to follow his nose because he could, you fat head!"

"Do I have to come down there and separate you two?" Aki called down the hall from where she'd poked her head out of the kitchen. "That's quite enough."

"Sorry Aki," Kagome blushed with embarrassment.

Inuyasha crossed his arms, "Keh!"

"Osuwari!" Kagome muttered.

Mouse blinked down at the hanyou. "You might want to behave yourself while you're here. Most of the floors are reinforced concrete. I don't imagine they're too soft." Then the healer continued on her way with equanimity.

Data began to mutter with greater fervor as he walked into his room and firmly shut the door.

"Well now what do we do?" Kagome asked the mostly empty hallway.

Inuyasha pried himself off the floor and looked up at his almost constant companion. What could they do? He shook his head; everything that came to mind Kagome wasn't ready for.

"I think there was a lobby back towards where we came in, I could get a start on my homework," Kagome shrugged and began walking. She paused even with the door Aki had disappeared behind. "You think they're okay in there?"

Inuyasha glanced at her then at the door. "If they aren't, they're in the best place for the clean up."

Kagome laughed, "yeah, there's no better place to hurt yourself than a place where you can get it treated immediately." And they continued towards the lobby, leaving Sesshoumaru and Aki to take care of themselves.

In actuality, Sesshoumaru and Aki weren't really doing anything, as Aki had yet to acknowledge the youkai that had snuck into her kitchen. Perhaps the inu youkai kept his silence in fear speech would spur the cook into using her rather lethal looking chef's knife on him in an equally efficient manner as she used it on the vegetables on the cutting board. Perhaps he was just composing what to say.

Aki finished her chopping and transferred the result to the pot before starting on another ingredient. "I did not appreciate you and Loki nearly coming to blows while I was trying to sleep. I do not see why violence would result over something so asinine and normally I wouldn't care what you do, but you chose to hold the argument and very nearly the fight in a very cluttered room when I was present," she never looked up. She didn't even glance at him. "And over what? Something Loki said. Since when do I allow anyone, including you and Loki, to decide what will happen in my life, with who and when. I would think you had learned that much about me already."

Sesshoumaru blinked. She did have a point. Nobody told Aki what to do or how to do it. Occasionally she might take a suggestion, but Aki didn't take orders, not even from her own body unless she collapsed and then she only partially heeded it.

He'd been exceptionally stupid and given Aki yet another reason to disbelieve he wanted her for more than convenience. Was he never going to do this right? In anything else he could coolly plan and plot like an experienced tactician. But not with Aki.

"I will give you this though," she continued, not once changing the pace of her knife. "You didn't once refer to me as property. You got after Loki for it. You told Loki that he couldn't tell _you_ what to do and did not once refer to me in or out of context in that statement." Finally, she looked at him. Her hair was pulled back out of the way and she wore a seemingly old apron. "You're learning. You're not there yet, but it really hasn't been that long." She turned back to her prep work.

Sesshoumaru gazed thoughtfully at the back of her head. Had he fallen so low in her opinion that such a small change seemed a big achievement for him? He could do better. He had always been able to do better than such small achievements.

The taiyoukai stalked up behind Aki as she slid the last of her ingredients into the pot. When she turned around abruptly he was practically on top of her, but she didn't appear surprised.

Wordlessly, he grabbed her hand and stepped back in order to draw her hand between them. Then Sesshoumaru dug into his pocket and pulled out her precious hair sticks and wrapped her fingers around them.

Aki stared at her hand a long time. Her grip tightening until he was afraid she would break the sticks. Instead she took a deep breath and sighed.

Then Aki stepped forward and hugged him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear as he held her tight. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and whispered the words again. He had a lot to apologize for; he knew he did.

"Thank you," she whispered back, startling him. What did she have to thank him for? But Aki never said more.

He tightened his hold briefly before letting her go. "Aki," he began.

"Hmm?" she hummed at him when he stalled.

"I have, that is I want..." Sesshoumaru railed at himself. Now was not the time for such hesitation. "I have a request."

"What kind of request?" Aki turned back to stir the pot on the stove.

"I want to ask you to make me a promise," Sesshoumaru continued a little put off by her shift in attention.

"What kind of promise?" Aki asked gently.

"It won't be a difficult promise to make, that is I don't think it will be."

"That's nice to know."

"But it is kind of important – in a very quiet and personal way."

"I won't tell anyone," Aki answered.

"Well, I-"

"Yes?"

"That is, I'd like-"

"Go on," Aki was getting a little frustrated despite how cute it was to watch Sesshoumaru stumble through whatever the hell this was.

"Please promise me you won't let anybody else become your mate while I'm not with you."

Aki blinked. He wanted her to avoid mating someone else while he wasn't around? What, did he want to watch her with someone else? She almost laughed at the thought.

"What I mean is, I very much desire to have the chance to become mates again in the future. I know you refuse to consider it until you are no longer cursed and I can respect your reasons for feeling that way, but someday it will be gone, you know it will, and I want to know I'll have the first chance to have that honor. Or I at least want to be in the running before your decision is made," Sesshoumaru turned his back to her and winced. Oh she wasn't going to make the promise now. Why couldn't he have been more smooth?

Aki walked around the front of him and he tried desperately to hide the raw look in his eyes. She placed both her hands against his face and gently kissed his cheek. "If it will make you feel better, I will promise that so long as you still want me then, you can be certain you will be among the first in the ranks I would chose from." Aki smiled gently, "I'll go you one better, if you still want me then, you will be the only one I'd choose."

Sesshoumaru's heart lifted and he twirled her about the room before planting a firm kiss on her mouth. He barely restrained the laugh that bubbled up in his chest. She'd promised no one but him!

"Sesshoumaru!" Aki said sharply, barely concealing her amusement. "That day isn't today."

And he set her down. She was right. Sesshoumaru had said he respected her desire to wait until she wasn't cursed before rebuilding her family; he'd better act like it. He was just so happy she'd agreed. He no longer had to worry about it. It was so good to release the uncertainty.

Aki went back to the pot to stir it before replacing the lid.

"What are you making?" he asked just to have something else to think about.

"Spaghetti," she replied. "This is the sauce right now, it takes a while to cook. It goes over pasta that I'll make later." Aki hummed as she worked in the kitchen. "It's rare to find someone who knows how to make spaghetti sauce from scratch in this country. Then again, it's probably rare in a lot of countries. The dish originated from Italy," she smiled at him. "That's a world away from here. For a lot of people spaghetti and pizza are the most Italian you can get, though I prefer my alfredo."

Aki tasted her cooking and added a bit more basil.

"Well, I left him whimpering like a baby," Kaoru walked in briskly, interrupting Aki's pleasant humming. "Though I still think you should've done it." She blinked, "This one doesn't look any the worse for wear. Do you need me to scold him too? I'm on a roll, I could probably do it."

Aki smiled evilly at the matchmaker, "No need, he's perfectly glum. You just can't tell because he's in the same room with me and totally incorrigible."

"Ah, such magic your mere presence has wrought. You'll have to teach some of my more hopeless cases how to do that," Kaoru muttered.

"It is a natural ability, it can't be taught," Sesshoumaru declared presently.

"Is that so?" Kaoru laughed. "Well, you've got this one completely wrapped around your finger."

"Nah, I don't think so," Aki grinned. "And no you can't get a taste of the sauce now.

"But Aki," Kaoru started in her most reasonable voice.

"No," Aki pushed the lid down firmly and hid the spoon she'd used to stir with.

"Come on, just a little to moisten this piece of bread," Kaoru waved the piece of French bread she'd snitched from where Aki had just cut it.

"No bread. No sauce. Get out!" Aki ordered sternly.

"I bet you wouldn't kick Data out," Kaoru muttered.

"I already kicked Data out," Aki retorted.

"What? How could you be so cruel as to kick that poor old youkai out of the kitchen?" Kaoru tried to guilt Aki into letting her stay.

"The same way I'm kicking you out," Aki didn't feel guilty. "Now get out before I ask Sesshoumaru to escort you out."

"You're letting him stay," Kaoru whined.

"He's behaving himself," Aki replied.

"What if I promise to behave?" Kaoru asked.

"Too late now," Aki wasn't buying into that.

"Well fine," the pink haired matchmaker huffed and left the kitchen.

Sesshoumaru raised a questioning eyebrow at Aki.

"They all try to get a taste in before dinner, every time I cook," Aki explained. "You'd think there was a cash prize in it for the person that manages to pull it off."

"Has anyone succeeded?" the inu youkai inquired.

"Not yet," Aki shrugged. "One of these days I'll get smart and leave my cooking unattended for a few minutes after leaving out a decoy pot full of something foul tasting."

Sesshoumaru chuckled quietly, "That would teach them."

"Not likely," Aki muttered.

"Aki," Loki came in whining, "How could you sic Kaoru on me? I'm going to have nightmares for weeks!"

"Poor baby," she mocked him.

"The only chance for a cure is some of your cooking," Loki sighed dramatically.

"Then you'll get some…at dinner with everybody else," Aki replied.

"I can't wait that long!" Loki declared. "It'll be too late then. The nightmares will have set in for certain."

Aki patted his shoulder, "Then I guess you'll just have to prepare yourself to suffer through them."

"How could you be so cruel?" Loki cried.

"Go ask Kaoru," Aki suggested.

"No go, huh?"

"Not a chance."

"Damn," and Loki left.

Sesshoumaru's eyes were shiny with contained mirth.

"Guess who's next," Aki said to the side.

"Aki!" in walked Mouse.

"What?"

"I'm afraid I'll have to take a sample of what you're making so I can test it to make certain it can't cause you to relapse," Mouse declared seriously.

"Then I guess you can collect your sample at dinner when we eat," Aki replied.

"But you'll likely taste it between now and then," Mouse pointed out.

"Well then it's too late, I already tasted it," Aki mock gasped.

"You don't have to be so smug about it," Mouse declared sourly.

"You use the same excuse every time!" Aki cried. "It's hard not to be smug and sarcastic when I manage to come up with new ways to thwart you every time."

Mouse just turned around and left.

"Data's usually the worst one," Aki chuckled. "This time he declared, before I had even started cooking, that he'd be by for a taste later. I declared he would certainly get a taste of it – at dinner."

"Something smells good," Kagome walked in with Inuyasha at her heals, "you think I could get a taste of whatever smells so good?"

Sesshoumaru finally succumbed to his laughter. When Aki had said everybody would try to get a taste he hadn't realized she meant _every_body, even the people that didn't know about it.

"What's so funny?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Oh don't worry about him," Aki smiled. "He's had a really stressful day. And you'll get to taste it at dinner Kagome, Along with everybody else." Muffled groaning sounded in the hall.

"What was that?" Kagome asked.

"Everybody else that was going to ask for a pre-dinner taste," Aki replied.

"Oh," Kagome blinked.

This was the weirdest hospital she'd ever been to!


	10. Tattletale Central

la, and then there was one more chapter and you loved it. YAY!

this chapter is a lot of fun. Cro reappears for the sake of getting Aki in trouble, and we all know that never happens. (SARCASM) I'm afraid Sesshoumaru's mythical insecurity makes an appearance despite all Rumiko Takahashi's protestations to the contrary. And we speak of a different Gang boss who has a mysterious understanding of Sesshy boy. Teehee.

And as much as you think I'm giving things away, I'm not. So Nyah! And the remaining chapter count is down to one. My exam is in a little over a week. Crunch time. oh shoot me now!

**Tattletale Central**

Aki stared out over the darkened water of the bay. The wind bathed her face in the spray kicked up by the waves and she smiled. Sesshoumaru had been warily eyeing everything that moved and several things that didn't so she brought him to the park next to the water. He probably needed the break from her reality anyway.

Currently his back was to the water and the view of the city on the other side. Sesshoumaru was studying the trees and the hard pathway material under his feet. He didn't like how the lights lit up the trees, but at least it wasn't as bright and crowded as the rest of the city seemed to be.

The smell of pollution wasn't as strong here with the trees attempting to clean it out and Aki's power constantly trying to purify it. He could smell her here. The salty breeze carried her scent to him, strengthening it, helping it stand out a little.

"Feel better?" she asked him gently. He turned and blinked at her leaning against the rail. "If it were my choice I wouldn't have just thrown you into the big city for your first experience of the 21st century. Believe it or not, there are a lot of places left that aren't so crammed full of people."

"Are there?" Sesshoumaru couldn't help asking with the city looming across the water.

Aki smiled warmly, "Of course there are. I have a house out in the country back in the states. It's miles away from anyone else, surrounded by waving tall grass and giant shade trees. I even have my own pond. I had it built after everything went to hell."

"Why are you not there now?" he asked in curiosity.

"I couldn't stand the looks of pity I got every time I went to town," she answered softly before turning to stare out over the water again. "So I decided to move somewhere as different from home as possible. Some place easy to get lost in."

"You wanted to get lost?" he inquired, his voice incredulous.

"No, I wanted others to have trouble finding me," she shrugged. "After my family died, the news spread like wild fire around the world. I was hounded day and night by people trying to get to the 'truth' so long as it either painted me in a bad light or made me seem absolutely pitiful. Complete strangers who thought they knew the whole story would come up to me and either spit at me from the belief that I was the root of all evil or they would stare at me the way people stare at slow moving funeral processions." She sighed and gave him a glimpse of the look in her eyes. "It was uncomfortable and only served to constantly remind me of why my life had changed so much."

Sesshoumaru brushed her hair back in a silent offer of comfort. "You said the whole world knew of you, do they not know of you here?"

"Nobody has really made the connection. The Japanese version of the story made me sound like a platinum blonde ten-year-old waif, despite the pictures printed with it. It makes hiding a lot easier as I'm obviously more than ten years old and definitely don't have platinum blonde hair."

"Does that mean you are a waif then?"

Aki chuckled, "Only if twenty year olds with two luxurious residences can be considered such." She took a deep breath of the sea air. "I love the salty smell."

"Do you often come here?"

"No, I normally don't have time, but you looked like you could use a break," she shrugged.

"Well, look who it is," a voice called from the trees. "Didn't think you'd be wandering around the city after all that I hear happened today."

"I'm not wandering, I'm quite obviously standing in one place," Aki declared blandly. "Besides, I thought your turf was blocks away from here, Cro."

"Normally it is, but Raven got us in trouble yesterday and the boss moved us," he grumbled. "I see you managed to find her without any trouble," Cro addressed Sesshoumaru.

The taiyoukai nodded dismissively.

"So that's how you got back last night," Aki snapped her fingers. "Loki asked me about that."

"You didn't tell her?" Cro gasped.

"Other stuff happened today, we've been busy," she declared with a shrug.

"Yeah, the whole city has been humming about Tuck's desperate dash this morning," Cro informed her. "When someone that important tries to bend the rules people take notice. When the boss heard, she made sure we covered this part of the city pretty thick. She was certain you'd try to sneak off without a proper escort for you and your company."

"I did not sneak off and I'm certain Sesshoumaru and I can handle the short walk home from here." Aki scoffed in irritation.

"Uh-huh, and that's why you're standing in the park at night when you know the area is full of rapists and muggers after dark," Cro pointed out. "And after a collapse too."

Sesshoumaru glared questioningly at her. Were there really dangers in the park at night?

Aki quickly looked away from his searching eyes. "Shut up Cro!" she paused to suck down more of the salty air before changing the subject. "Where's Raven?"

"Oh, he's on special assignment for getting us in trouble," Cro answered. "See he stupidly harassed your guest last night and told the boss about it," he continued. "Apparently the boss is a great deal more familiar with Mr. Tall-and-silent here. She was rather upset to hear about what went on."

"I hope it's nothing too dreadful," Aki smiled. "Sesshoumaru probably asked for it."

Sesshoumaru growled in protest. He wasn't going to argue outright in front of this bastard. He could wait until he got Aki back to her apartment, then he would scold her soundly for leading them into this dangerous place. It didn't matter that she had intended to sooth his nerves, her safety was more important.

"You're both still coming to the museum with us tomorrow, right?" Aki demanded. "We need the chaperones or we won't be allowed to take the kids."

Cro raised his hands up defensively. "We'll be there, we're still going. Even if you stayed home, we'd make sure those kids got to go."

"I'm going," Aki declared stoutly.

"But after today you really should rest. The kids'll under-"

"I'm going, Cro!" she growled. "I could be dead and buried and I would still claw my way to the surface to go. Those kids deserve no less."

"I think the kids would be scarred for life if you showed up dead," Cro commented. "So we really should get you home and out of the park."

"What is it today? Was it marked on the calendar to smother Aki today?" she moaned petulantly. "We're fine Cro. Go find Raven to push around, he apparently likes it."

"The boss's instructions were quite specific. You are to be escorted home the moment we come across you stalling," Cro replied evenly.

"I'm not stalling," Aki protested. "We just took a detour."

Cro rolled his eyes, "Whatever can we just get a move on?"

Aki turned to huff at him and found herself kicking and flailing against the air before settling in surprise against Sesshoumaru's chest. "Would you put me down?" she hollered at him.

Sesshoumaru gave her a stern look before turning to Cro.

"Right," Cro grinned. "It's this way then."

Not five minutes later it started to rain and Sesshoumaru glared down at Aki. "Don't look at me like that," she growled. "There's too much crap in the air for me to predict the weather here."

"It was in the weather forecast," Cro informed her.

"I'm sorry," Aki grouched. "When did I have time to watch the news or listen to the radio?" She shifted in Sesshoumaru's arms. "And I might remind you that while I can speak your language rather well I'm no expert."

"Meaning?" Cro asked.

"Meaning I don't exactly understand all of the Meteorology terms in my own language let alone in Japanese!"

"You know the word for rain," Cro insisted.

"Have you forgotten how many different words there are for the different kinds of rain?" Aki asked blandly.

"You have a point," Cro grumbled and changed the subject. "We're going to be soaked by the time you get to your apartment."

"I'll live," Aki muttered.

"You might, but I won't if Mouse finds out I didn't escort you into your building and see to it personally that you take a warm bath and go straight to bed after the day you've had." Cro said quietly. "But I figure, your companion will see to it that you do what you're supposed to," he smirked. "I mean, as much as I would have loved to see you all wet and soapy and despite the fact you are the only woman I'd ever consider going straight for, I would rather not try to force you to take care of yourself."

"That does it! I'm investing in an attack dog who will kill on command!" Aki yelled in frustrated annoyance.

"Any dog worth his salt will push you around and make you take care of yourself," Cro asserted. "Not unlike a certain friend of yours. Speaking of which, where is Fred?"

"I haven't the slightest idea," Aki shook her head. "I haven't seen him since I snuck through the barrier erected to hold me captive. He should have found his way free by now though."

Sesshoumaru growled in remembrance of Aki's latest disappearing act. "Tama is holding him ransom until we all return," he informed them icily. "She is determined to have a few words with you."

"Again?" Aki huffed and crossed her arms. "Is it going to be another lecture about the behavior of so-called mates? Because if it is, I don't have to put up with it!"

"What?" Cro interrupted. "Since when were you mated?"

"Since fate decided to royally screw with my life again," Aki answered. "It's all fixed now though. Apparently fate didn't run the idea through all the proper channels before taking action and my freedom won out. Ouch!" she glared up at Sesshoumaru and rubbed her arm.

"What's wrong?" Cro asked in amusement.

"I seem to have pinched my arm on something," Aki answer dryly. "Maybe I should walk on my own so I'm not inclined to do it agai-" her sentence ended in a yelp when Sesshoumaru abruptly dropped her a couple inches before catching her again.

"That'd be a 'no'" Cro grunted. "You'd probably try to run anyway."

"I would not," Aki denied with exasperation. Just how juvenile did he think she was? "I'm not allowed to run in the city. I try not to promote chaos, no matter how irresponsible you may think me."

"That's not what I meant," the gang member started.

"Change the subject Cro, if you know what's good for you," she ordered flatly.

"Right," Cro muttered softly. "The twins have decided they'll meet you at the museum tomorrow. They figure the less time you have to run around talking to a bunch of people the better, especially after they heard about today."

"They're worse than my little brother was whenever I had a cold," Aki sighed. "How the hell do they expect us to get anything done at the museum with a bunch of kids?"

"I don't know," Cro shrugged. "I imagine they don't really care either. And don't expect those kids tomorrow will let you get away with your regular antics. They've probably heard about today as well. They quite like you alive and healthy, they will do what they can to keep you that way."

"Will this stream of mother hens never stop!" Aki groaned.

"It's your own fault for being so wonderful to them. You shouldn't be so nice to people if you don't want them to care about you," Cro smiled.

"I'm not nice, just polite," she pouted.

"And kind and considerate and compassionate and concerned about your fellow people," Cro pointed out. "You are everything in this world that is good and those kids don't get much of that, most of us don't. You were doomed from the start.

"Hah!" Aki laughed. "I have bad parts too, nobody's perfect!"

"Well, that's true. You're too independent, self-destructive, intractable, stubborn, and you are entirely too wealthy for your own good," Cro agreed.

"You forgot troublesome, annoying, emotionally closed off and entirely too demanding," Aki reached out to poke the male in the arm.

"I'll grant you the first two but not the last two," Cro murmured over Sesshoumaru's low growl. The inu youkai didn't much care for the conversation.

"I'm losing my edge, I'll have to work on it," Aki muttered grimly.

"All right then," Cro smirked. "Here we are. Now remember take a warm bath and go straight to bed."

"Gee, mom, are you going to make sure I brush my teeth too?" Aki grumbled as she finally managed to get Sesshoumaru to put her down.

"Aw, I don't think you need me to do that, darling. You're a big girl now after all," Cro replied mockingly. "Besides, this new babysitter appears rather militant in expression so mommy's will shall be done."

"You're a jerk!" Aki called after him. "See you tomorrow!"

Aki squelched up the stairs to her apartment ahead of Sesshoumaru and he didn't miss it when she started to shiver in the climate-controlled atmosphere of her apartment. She headed straight for the bathroom to get a towel and turned to head back into her room only to find the doorway blocked.

He glared at her significantly before turning his stare to the tub meaningfully.

Aki glared at him and at the tub petulantly. What was she a kid? She had only intended to get a change of clothes, was that so terrible? The towel was to save her carpet a little excess moisture, but she knew him well enough to realize there wasn't a chance she was getting out that door without another trip to Mouse's office. Her life just sucked!

Sesshoumaru was prepared for a battle to get her into the tub, one he was certain to enjoy. After all, it was an excuse to touch her and see her undressed, which was more action from her than he was likely to get for a while. He was also convinced he could ensure that she enjoyed it as well.

Of course, that was if she attempted to fight her way past him, which she wasn't going to do. And apparently she wasn't going to fight over getting undressed and into the tub either as she lifted the hem of her soggy shirt and pitched it at him before turning on the tap. The dripping material slapped him rather coldly in the face before Aki shoved him out of the room with the closing door.

Sesshoumaru didn't get to see squat let alone touch anything. He would've stood there pouting if his own soaking wet clothes hadn't started to get on his nerves. He changed out of his borrowed clothing and into part of his traditional robes. He was getting rather tired of this place so full of dangers he didn't understand and couldn't fight.

Which reminded him, Aki still needed to be chastised for endangering herself by leading them to the park. Sesshoumaru's eyes hardened with purpose. He may not currently be her mate, but he was almost certain to be someday and he really wanted her to live that long.

The inu youkai barged right into the bathroom without knocking only to stop dead in his tracks at the sight of the tub. Instead of seeing all of Aki in her wet, naked glory he saw a white fluffy substance that floated on the surface of the water and blocked the view up to her neck.

"What is it now?" Aki demanded with annoyance.

"What is that?" Sesshoumaru asked as he knelt down to study the foam. He picked some up in his hand and rubbed it between his fingers.

"They're bath bubbles," Aki answered while making doubly sure to pile the suds up high around her chest. She'd known there would be no peace for her bath while Sesshoumaru was in the house and planned accordingly. Besides, she deserved bubbles after the last month!

"Are they safe?" he asked seriously.

"I don't know. WE like to test them on small children to see if they bite before letting strong adult females use them," Aki declared sarcastically. Sesshoumaru flicked some bubbles at her in response. "It's just soap silly. I'm not that self-destructive."

"How am I supposed to know if it is harmless or not? Everything here seems to have its dangers, even peaceful stretches of trees," Sesshoumaru said bitingly.

Aki blinked at him before smiling down at her bubbles. "Everything has its dangers in your world too Sesshoumaru, you're just used to them as I am used to mine. The only thing you can do is accept the risk and keep moving because avoiding it is impossible and can only frighten you. It's pointless to worry about it all the time." She played with the bubbles a little. "Besides, I happen to know that park hasn't had a mugging attempt in six months and the last rapist was dismembered two months before that. Cro's boss is very particular about the parks on her turf. Cro was just teasing."

"It didn't sound that way," Sesshoumaru muttered. He trailed his fingers through the bubbles along the side of the tub getting his hand a little wet. The taiyoukai rested his forearm on the side watching the water drip back into the tub.

Aki yawned tiredly and leaned her head back against the wall allowing her eyes to slide closed momentarily. Despite her multiple attempts to assure everyone that she was fine; the partial demon was terribly exhausted. Today had been a red-letter day for her.

Everything had seemed to happen so quickly she felt as if she had aged a thousand years since she woke up that morning. And Aki still couldn't figure out why she had made that promise to the youkai lord. Well she couldn't take it back now, there was no chance Sesshoumaru would let her.

Aki jerked her eyes open when she felt the brush of Sesshoumaru's fingertips on her cheek. His golden eyes were studying her face in concern and some other veiled emotion. She blinked dazedly at him before dropping her eyes to the water that was now partially cleared of bubbles.

Aki quirked an eyebrow at that, she hadn't thought Sesshoumaru was prone to being so ridiculously devious. He'd noticed dripping water on the bubbles slowly dissolved them and meticulously cleared away as much of the foam as he could without her being the wiser.

That could only mean one thing. It was time to get out.

Aki sighed and pulled the plug with her feet before rising out of the last layer of bubbles, opening her towel in the process in order to adequately block Sesshoumaru's view. Just because she was naked didn't mean she would let him get a peep show.

She had to chuckle silently at the look on Sesshoumaru's face when he realized he wasn't going to glimpse anything good. He really was incorrigible. She supposed it was somewhat flattering that the usually stoic youkai was so hungry for just a peek at her, but somehow, the compliment seemed a little more like a nuisance at the moment, especially since she couldn't even get him to back up a step to let her brush by him and into her bedroom to get dressed. In fact, if he were any closer to her, she would be wearing a Sesshoumaru suit.

"Would you back off, please?" Aki asked in exasperation. "Some breathing room would be most appreciated.

"You appear to be breathing just fine," Sesshoumaru replied evenly all the while studying her closely to make absolutely certain she truly was breathing all right.

"Back off!" Aki growled and firmly shoved him back the required step to allow her freedom to escape the bathroom.

Sesshoumaru let out a growl of his own when he trailed her into the bedroom and found her heading away from the bed. "To bed," he ordered and caught her up in his arms before throwing her on the lush bed coverings.

"They're called pajamas, you jerk! Clothes to wear when you're sleeping," Aki yelled. "Now I _am_ going to put on some pajamas and you are going to stop being so freaking literal!"

"You don't need them," Sesshoumaru declared slightly upset at being called a jerk and still hopeful of glimpsing some of Aki's more interesting anatomy.

"I am going to-"

Sesshoumaru cut her off by scooping her into his arms and settling on the plush surface of the mattress.

"You're annoying," Aki whined.

"Go to sleep," Sesshoumaru ordered.

"I will not, the bed's getting all wet," Aki declared. "It wouldn't be if I were wearing my pajamas."

"You exaggerate, go to sleep," he replied. _He_ was comfortable and not in the mood to move around.

"I don't think so," Aki muttered mutinously and squirmed out of his grasp leaving the towel behind as sacrifice for her escape. "I'm going to wear my clothes! Otherwise I'll be cold and damp, completely undoing the work of my warm bath that you insisted I take," she ranted while slipping into her preferred sleeping apparel. "Seriously, why is it so difficult to let me put on clothes?"

"Why do you insist on wasting the time on something completely unneeded?" Sesshoumaru growled. "Are you afraid I would take advantage of your uncovered stat?"

"That's not it," Aki answered. "Loki sometimes comes in early to get some work done to be absolutely certain I know he isn't completely slacking off when I'm not here. I normally don't even know he's here until a few hours later when I manage to wake up. I'm so exhausted here I sleep through everything."

"What does that have to do with your pajamas?" Sesshoumaru demanded.

Aki quirked an eyebrow at him. "That's the only bathroom in the apartment," she nodded at the small room. "Suppose Loki needs to use it before I wake up, I'd rather he use it than make a mess somewhere else, and that requires he walk through my room. That's why I don't sleep nude as you suggested. There's no guarantee that I wouldn't have accidentally exposed myself, and I'd rather not give you an excuse to beat up my researcher over something I can prevent. Besides, I like my pajamas and don't get many chances to wear them."

Aki disappeared into the bathroom to finish drying her hair. A noise started up that drew him to the door worried. She was waving a strange shaped thing at her hair that was making all the noise.

"What is that?" Sesshoumaru demanded after she had turned the item off.

"A hair dryer," Aki replied absently while reaching for her hairbrush. "It blows hot air to speed dry hair or other items."

Aki turned to him and gently pushed him out the door before finally climbing into bed. "There, now I'm in bed. Are you happy now?"

Sesshoumaru pounced, holding her tight against his front as he lay down beside her. "I am content," he declared and nuzzled her hair as her scent relaxed him. "I will be happy the day you allow me to mark you again."

"Well good, that'll give you something to dream about," Aki yawned hugely.

"This Sesshoumaru has had many things to dream about lately," he pulled her just a little closer. "You have made it so."

"Apparently I fill the dreams of many different people these days, but you're the only one I've given license to dream about me," she half-smiled.

"Who are these low lives that dream of you without license," he demanded in mock surprise.

"_I_'m not going to name names, but you could possibly guess a few," Aki chuckled mildly.

"Too bad for them you onlyhave time to dream of me," Sesshoumaru declared smugly.

Aki couldn't help but laugh at that. "I don't know about that, but I'm glad you do," she yawned again.

"I do, now start dreaming," he ordered her.

Aki fell asleep with a smile on her face that reflected in his eyes until they finally closed as well.


	11. Rock Bottom

And lo, we come to all saint's day and the end of part 4. This is also the 41st chapter in this story... bet you hadn't even realized that!

At last the great Museum trip. Imagine Sesshoumaru and a bunch of modern day kids that all treat Aki like their very own and only family member. She is their premier favorite personand they're all out to help her misbehave and keep breathing. All at the expense of Loki and Sesshoumaru both!

And we finally get to meet the mysterious twins. Believe me, you won't believe the names of these crazy characters! Not even Rumiko Takahashi could come up with this insanity and make it somewhat believeable. AFter all, if we could name ourselves there would be hell of a lot fewer jennifers, heathers, jasons, and davids and quite possibly too many Tv and Movie characters running around. SEriously, if your choice were between a name like Fred or Frank or Edgar and something like Loki or Thor or even Ra... well, who wouldn't want to be named after a god or mischievous character? (I mean besides the few of us who got stuck with the unusual names... Seriously, you'd think an unusaul name would be easy to remember, but I can not tell you the number of times I am called by some other name than my own. It's pathetic.)

And now, sadly, your nightmare begins. My exams is this Saturday and I just finished recopying out all my notes by hand. That's about 3 or 4 years worth of chemistry I crammed into 3 months! I'm so proud of me! Sadly this means your break will last until I get part 5 finished up and then typed... Which could take a while because I sometimes don't want to type, but I do love these little weekly rants and insanity, so it shouldn't take too long.

Until then lovely readers, cope as best you can, because I'll not be throwing out little tid bits through any other medium than AIM. Here's added insentive, I have a little ficcie that I'm not posting anywhere, I'll send it to you if you chat with me. Sure I'm bribing, but there's got to be some reason to sit at the computer and type for awhile.

**Rock Bottom**

Some days take forever to begin. The morning just isn't sure when it wants to initiate the race to get things done before time runs out so it tiptoes around the early hours to see if starting is even worth the bother.

Sesshoumaru had never had this problem before. Usually the day began the moment he awoke, but since he took up with Aki, he found himself delaying the effort to get out of bed. Most likely it was because she generally slept longer than he did, or maybe it was because Aki was often beyond his reach and he wanted to savor every moment when she was present.

For whatever reason, Sesshoumaru spent several hours just lounging beside the sleeping female. Every time she would shift in response to a dream, he would let her settle before pulling her back against him gently. Whenever her stupid pajamas kept him form touching skin, his claws would carefully slice the material, making sure not to injure her. It wasn't long before he touched flesh every time.

Sesshoumaru didn't pull himself out of bed until the sound of the door opening in Aki's living room met his ears. An intrusion in Aki's home was reason for investigation. It wouldn't do to allow an agent of danger in the inner sanctum of his future mate while she was sleeping.

The demon lord prowled down the hallway stealthily. If it was an intruder he wanted to catch them unawares. If it was Loki, the bastard could use a good scare anyway.

Unfortunately, Loki knew the apartment better and he also knew the direction Sesshoumaru was likely to come from, so the attempted scare fell flat before it could be fully launched.

"Good morning your high and mightiness," Loki called sarcastically from the computer in the corner of the living room. He didn't bother to turn around. Sesshoumaru's reflection was clear enough for him. "Did you manage to pester Aki to exhaustion yesterday or did you fail to accomplish it?"

"She claims just being in your mere presence is exhausting enough. I had to carry her home after dinner last night," Sesshoumaru answered dryly. Sure it wasn't the whole truth, but he wasn't lying. Aki had said spending time with Loki and the rest of their dinner group was usually very tiring and he had carried her home.

"By way of the park too," Loki continued the verbal sparring match.

"She felt the need for the fresh air and peaceful scenery. Your rambunctious behavior left her incapable of achieving a restful state," Sesshoumaru said blandly, it probably had anyway. "If you intend to continue leading your people effectively, you really should modify your behavior."

"You're right, from now on I'll be sure to act like I have a stick shoved perpetually up my ass, just like you," Loki replied nonchalantly while continuing his work. "I'm sure such behavior won't completely alienate my people and they'll soon be walking around like ineffectual automatons."

"It is unfortunate that you are incapable of finding the caliber of people that can't help but be effective. It appears the quality of underlings has greatly decreased over time," the inu youkai observed flatly. "Perhaps this is due to the invention of these 'automatons' you mentioned."

"Maybe," Loki muttered thoughtfully, "but I've not seen your people to make a proper comparison for judgment." The gang leader ended the conversation rather neatly and dismissed any concern about Sesshoumaru's presence until the inu youkai started to loom over his shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"I do not answer to you," Sesshoumaru declared firmly. Whatever he did was not the concern of this insignificant little man.

"Didn't your mom ever teach you it's impolite to stare, read over someone's shoulder or interfere with the work of others?" Loki asked snidely.

"Such considerations do not apply when dealing with lesser beings," Sesshoumaru declared.

"Oh really? Then if that's the case, Aki is one of us 'lesser beings' for she always extends such courtesy to us," Loki returned. "I'll be sure to tell her that when she wakes up."

"Aki is unaware of her own greatness, so of course she would treat her lesser fellows kindly," Sesshoumaru dismissed the verbal threat.

"You obviously don't have that problem, what with your inflated opinion of yourself," Loki grumbled.

"You only believe it is inflated," Sesshoumaru scoffed. "You simply are unable to truly perceive my worth."

So now Loki was worthless _and_ dumb. This conversation had to stop before it turned violent, and Loki happened to be intelligent enough to realize it. "Well obviously you don't appreciate my company. Maybe you would prefer learning what Aki was like before the curse."

"And how would I accomplish that?" Sesshoumaru asked blandly.

"Aki's family was rather fond of taking videos of various family events." At Sesshoumaru's blank look Loki tried to explain. "It's like a visual record of what happens and includes sound as well." Loki opened a video case standing next to the computer. "Some of them are actually pretty entertaining because Aki used to get involved with plays and talent shows. Her version of Peter Pan would be awesome if the rest of the cast had lived up to her performance. There are also the demo videos Fred made when she used to sing in his high school cover band. I believe they usually worked all the school dances." Loki pulled out a neatly labeled tape and popped it into the VCR for Sesshoumaru to watch.

Loki wasn't lying; Aki performed well for the camera and the difference between Aki then and Aki now was clearly understood. Sesshoumaru was glued to the TV for hours, only stirring to growl in anger when the tapes ended and needed to be changed.

Most of the morning went like this until the informal routine was interrupted by an imperious knock on the door around noon.

Loki stared at it puzzled. There normally weren't many visitors to Aki's apartment barring Kaoru barging in to check on him, and he hadn't ordered take out. He had no idea who it could be.

Despite this the gang leader crossed over to the door to answer it. On the other side of the opened door stood a short redheaded woman with cold flames in her eyes.

"Where is she?" the stranger demanded with a fierce glint in her eyes. "Where is that bitch who murdered my brother?"

Aki chose that moment to walk tiredly down the hall stifling a monstrous yawn. As soon as she came into view, the strange woman emitted an inarticulate war cry as she launched herself at Aki.

"Sesshoumaru no," Aki yelled as she snapped awake to struggle with the smaller woman.

"You damn bitch! What did he ever do to you?" the redhead cried.

"Alexis, I," Aki began before she was cut off when the now identified woman tried to stab her with the point of a sharpened toothbrush. Aki grabbed at the tooth brush, managing to prevent it from doing more than scrape the skin off her forearm in a bloody line.

Alexis let out a screech of frustration before throwing her fist to connect with Aki's face just under the eye. Almost instantly she was hauled from her target and across the room.

"Careful with her Loki," Aki called as she tried to stop the bleeding on her arm and tenderly probe her bruising eye at the same time. "She's Fred's baby sister."

"I don't care who she is," Loki growled back as Sesshoumaru took over examining Aki's injuries. "Nobody hits you, Aki."

"You're going to care when I shove my foot up your ass, Loki. Alexis is angry about her brother and she has every right to be," Aki pushed at Sesshoumaru, who just growled but didn't move.

"She tried to stab you with a toothbrush!" Loki couldn't believe Aki was letting this go.

"Probably couldn't get anything else through customs," she muttered. "If you settle down Lexie, I'll let you yell at me to your heart's content, but these two aren't likely to let you continue the violence."

"Shut up! Don't ever call me by that name! You don't have the right to do it!" the redhead yelled as she broke away from Loki only to be caught by a frigid Sesshoumaru. He squeezed her arms until she yelped in pain.

"You will desist in this behavior. You are not a child and Aki has been most generous with your anger, but she is no murderer. You came here uninvited and offered violence without warning. Your family would be most ashamed, I am sure," Sesshoumaru scolded the girl icily.

"What would you know about it?" Aki demanded and yelped a little louder when he increased the pressure. "That bitch killed my brother!"

Aki pried Sesshoumaru's grip off of Fred's little sister despite his growl. "She insulted you!"

"I'll live," Aki growled back.

"Your brother would be angry at you," Loki hissed. "Fred never offered Aki any violence or Accusations for his death because Aki wasn't at fault!"

"The hell she wasn't!" the redhead hollered back. "If she wasn't responsible for it why did she run away?"

"Moving to Japan was _not_ an admission of guilt, you moron," Loki snarled. "She came here to get away from stupid people like you who throw accusations around without knowing the truth! Did you even bother to ask for the details of what happened before you jumped to conclusions?"

"What would you know about it? You weren't even there!" Alexis rebuffed him.

Loki snarled and grabbed her arm harshly before dragging the girl down the hall to the room filled with pictures. He shoved her inside and spoke terribly low, "I only know what I see. I refuse to believe that a woman who grieves so hard as to dedicate an entire room to what she lost could be responsible for the deaths of any one of the people pictured here."

"But you didn't come to the funeral," Alexis mumbled quietly. "If you didn't kill him, why didn't you go?"

"Your mom asked me not to," Aki answered blandly.

"Besides," Loki interrupted with a dark grin, "he's been haunting her the whole time, it's not like she had a real need to say goodbye."

"Now that I won't believe," Alexis began. "If my brother was going to haunt anyone it would be me."

"You'd better believe it," Loki shrugged, slowly loosing his anger. "He's been complaining about what your mom buried him in since I first met him."

Alexis laughed, "I can believe it! Mom was so stuck on finally getting him to dress 'properly' I think she forgot what he would have said about that particular outfit." She smiled warmly, "So where is he? Can I see him?"

"I'm afraid not," Aki shook her head as she turned down the hall to bandage her arm. "Sesshoumaru's house keeper is kind of holding him hostage until she gets a chance to scold me within an inch of my life."

"What did you do? Leave black shoe marks on her clean floors?" Alexis chuckled until she realized nobody else had joined in.

"I can bandage my own arm," Aki was insisting as she tired to shut the door on the silver haired male.

"Why don't I help you with it," Alexis offered. "I caused it after all. Besides, no male should crowd upon a woman's bathroom time."

"Sesshoumaru behave," Aki ordered sternly when he growled at the girl.

"How do you growl like that?" Alexis asked him before finding herself shut into the bathroom with Aki.

Aki sighed, "There's a long convoluted explanation for all you are likely to ask about his strangeness and mine. I don't have time for it now and most likely won't be able to get to it before I leave on an extended 'trip' so you are better off waiting for a later explanation. Right now I need to get ready for a museum visit, but you're welcome to joins us."

"Will anybody else be able to explain things to me?" Alexis asked as she wrapped gauze around Aki's arm.

"I suppose, but some will be more closed lipped about it than others. Are you planning to stay?" Aki inquired.

"Yeah, I'd like to see my brother," Alexis answered.

"Do you have a place to stay yet?" Aki asked absently.

"Nah, I just got here," the redhead kind of blushed.

"Stay here," Aki suggested. "You'd have to find a way to feed yourself and Loki comes by almost everyday to work on the computer, but I'm not spending much time here and it would be a shame not to let you use it."

"Are you sure?" Alexis asked.

Aki nodded, "And you can pester Loki into explaining things to you. He can probably keep you out of trouble too." She tugged gently at the gauze before opening the door to gather clothing to change into. "Oh, and if you run into a pink haired woman named Kaoru, tell her you're engaged and your beau just couldn't afford a ring."

Alexis blinked in surprise. "Why would I do that?"

"Kaoru thinks she's a spectacular matchmaker and she won't take no for an answer if you just happen to be single. I still haven't managed to talk her out of finding me a match," Aki muttered.

"What about that growlie guy?"

"The growler is the only contender right now and Kaoru didn't find him. I kind of found him by accident and can't seem to lose him," Aki smiled. "Not that it matters right now. I'm not starting anything with anybody right now because I don't want anybody else to wind up like your brother."

"What happened to my brother?" Alexis asked.

"The same thing that happened to my family and all the rest of my friends," Aki uttered softly before re-shutting herself up in the bathroom.

Alexis stared at the closed door in confusion.

"Aki's cursed," Loki offered in explanation. "Everybody she cared about wound up dead. So she's avoiding attachment to anyone new while we attempt to find a solution to the problem." He turned in the doorway and headed back to the computer.

"That doesn't sound too good for you," the redhead blinked at Sesshoumaru.

"No life is perfect," he said shortly, freezing the blood in her veins with his tone.

"Sorry I said anything, Geez!" Alexis muttered and headed after Loki. She found a comfortable spot on the couch and glanced about the room. Her gaze landed on the video currently playing and a wide grin spread across her face. "I remember this video! It took forever to get the shots just right and then the sound wouldn't sync properly. It took me days to fix and even still the timing is off in just one frame. There it is! Still it turned out fairly well."

Loki turned to look at her. "I thought Fred was responsible for these."

"The videos were his brain child, true," Alexis nodded, "But all the technical work fell to me to work out. He absolutely sucked at the details of projects and the how of things. But he had the vision to get the ball rolling. And he was probably the only person that could regularly bully Aki into singing on camera."

"You don't say," Loki leaned in.

"Yes," Aki interrupted. "I greatly disliked singing to a production crew."

"You only had to lip-sync the words," Alexis pointed out.

"I dislike that even more," Aki declared shortly. "Are we ready to go yet?"

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here after all the excitement?" Loki asked, kind of encouraging her to stay home.

"I'm going Loki," Aki replied firmly. "I don't know why you're so worried. We're just going to a museum. Are you coming Alexis?"

"A museum with a large group of children in tow," Loki clarified.

"So?" Aki returned.

"Sure I'll come," Alexis answered.

"Great!" Aki clapped her hands. "We needed another chaperone.

"What?" Alexis blinked in surprise.

"Oh don't worry," Aki reassured her. "You won't have to do anything, we just need the numbers in order to officially bring them all."

"Them who?" the redhead demanded.

"Aki's taking a bunch of the local orphans to this 'museum'." Sesshoumaru answered quietly.

"Yeah," Loki began. "And it will probably be the first time they've ever been."

"Hey guys," Aki called from her open front door. "Less talk more movement or the kids will think I've forgotten them." Sesshoumaru stood smirking beside her as the other two scrambled to get their things together before the door swung shut and Aki was gone.

"Has she always been this sneakily impatient?" Loki asked rhetorically.

"My brother used to complain about it a lot," Lexie nodded. "He said she would steadily get ready to leave while everybody was preoccupied by something else and then she would take off when she was ready, sometimes without warning." The redhead shrugged, "It's not like she was hiding the fact she was planning to leave soon. People just need to be more observant in general, something my brother never was," Alexis chuckled before voicing her thought aloud. "Apparently Sesshoumaru is that observant."

Loki snorted as they managed to catch up with Aki and the taiyoukai on the street. "He's only particularly observant when it concerns Aki."

"That's not true," Aki corrected him. "Sesshoumaru has to be very observant – in his line of work," she added with a sly smirk.

"What does he do?" Alexis asked.

"He lords over a particularly large group of unusually skilled people," Aki answered and Sesshoumaru smirked with amusement. Loki barely managed to subdue his laughter at her unique phrasing of the truth.

"Yeah, you kind of have to keep a close watch on those types," Alexis nodded. "They can pull some of the weirdest stunts when left to their own devices without proper supervision."

"You said it," Loki muttered.

"Loki can explain Sesshoumaru's job to you in more detail later," Aki dismissed the subject."

"What?" Loki barked. "Since when was I elected to be the resident Jeeves?"

"Jeeves wouldn't know half of what Alexis will want explained," Aki shrugged. "And since she will be staying at the apartment you will be available to her when she has questions more often than anyone else." She turned to glance at him over her shoulder. "You _were_ going to explain things to her eventually anyway. Lexie can be quite tenacious when she feels like ferreting out information as Fred could tell you if he was here."

"He never did manage to keep a secret from me," the redhead grinned devilishly.

"I should have expected no less from Fred's little sister," Loki grumbled.

Aki strode in the front door of a pretty generic school building.

"Aki!" a slender six-year-old girl with pigtails raced down the hallway.

"Eri, you know you're not supposed to run in the halls," Aki scolded the eager child even as she scooped her up to rest on her hip.

"You know the little ones can never contain their excitement," a fourteen year old walked down the hall trying her best to act cool.

"You're just jealous that you're too big to do the same, Larkis," Raven called after her.

"Shut up!" Larkis yelled back at him, her face turning the colour of her scarlet headband.

"Aki put that child down this minute," Mouse's voice carried down the hall.

Aki glanced at Eri and winked before holding the little girl tighter and sending a Japanese red eye down the hall at the healer.

"Who's that?" Alexis asked the air.

"Aki's doctor," Loki muttered in answer. "Mouse, you should know better than to try and get her to behave around the kids."

"Aki behaves just fine, doesn't she kids?" Tuck appeared in the hall surrounded by a small mob of children ranging between the ages of five and fifteen.

"Define 'behave'," a smart mouthed thirteen-year-old demanded. The older youkai gently bopped him on the head in response.

"You're going to get us in trouble," Cro worried aloud.

"Stop being such a wet blanket," Kaoru scoffed. "He didn't hurt anything."

"Still, we would prefer it if you didn't abuse the children," one of the government employees spoke up.

Kaoru rolled her eyes, "Hey kid!"

The thirteen year old growled, "My name is Ink!"

"That's not his real name," the employee declared, glaring at the boy. "Tell her your real name."

"If that is the name he desires to be called, then it is real enough for me," Kaoru brushed the comment aside. "Ink, do you feel that Tuck has abused you in anyway?"

Ink blinked up at Tuck and grinned, "Nope, not yet."

"Do you think that he will?" Aki asked softly, joining the asinine conversation. She gently passed Eri to Tuck.

"Not if he's one of Aki's people," the boy stated firmly.

"Do you feel the same about everyone that is here?" she asked for the benefit of the worried personnel who were responsible for the children most of the time. A resounding 'yes' echoed through the building. "Do we have enough chaperones to take everybody?" Aki asked the nearest official.

"More than enough," he replied. "You can even take the little one."

Aki smiled warmly. 'The Little One' was a seven-year-old girl that had trouble walking without canes and tired easily. She was tiny for her age and often got left out of things because of her health, which is why Aki had made extra certain to bring extra chaperones. There was no way she was leaving the poor thing behind.

"Come on, I'll help you get her stuff together and you can all get going," the nameless official turned to lead Aki into a side room. "Guess what little Angel! Aki's come to get you."

"I get to go too?" the tiny creature shook with uncontainable excitement and joy.

"Of course you get to come!" Aki exclaimed. "I said you did, didn't I? Now lets get your stuff together, everybody is waiting!" She smiled and packed all the necessary supplies into a small colorful backpack that she helped the little girl pull onto her shoulders. "You got your canes?"

The little girl nodded with a smile up at the woman who had given her this very special treat.

"All right then," Aki turned around and knelt down. "Get a good grip on them and we'll go." She waited patiently for the child to climb onto her back before pushing up from the ground. She carried the kid out to where the others were waiting.

"Aki!" Mouse called sternly.

"Mouse!" Aki replied with the same tone and the little girl on her back stuck her tongue out at the healer. The former English tutor chuckled at Mouse's stunned expression. "Good girl," she smiled over her shoulder and the child beamed. "Sesshoumaru, Alexis, meet Kumiko. Kumiko, this is Sesshoumaru and that is Alexis, Fred's younger sister."

"Hello," Kumiko beamed at them.

"They'll probably be with us all day," Aki informed the child.

"Why?" Kumiko asked curiously.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Larkis inquired s the group began to migrate from the building.

"Why?" Aki asked mildly. "Do you want him to be?"

"No!" a white haired fifteen year old boy shouted quickly. "We all know you are waiting for me to be old enough for you!"

"That's not ever going to happen, Yuki, and you know it!" Kumiko snorted.

Most of the kids closest to the discussion burst out laughing. "You know you're lost when Kumiko points it out," Ink declared loudly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuki demanded.

"Simply that Kumiko is always brutally honest," Raven chuckled. "Right Cro?"

"Shut up," Cro mumbled, coloring quietly.

"You're only embarrassed because the little angel made you see reason," Raven prodded his partner.

"Aki, you really shouldn't be exerting yourself again," Mouse scolded evenly, "especially after yesterday."

"Shut up, Mouse," Aki ordered darkly. "Yesterday wasn't as bad as everyone is making it seem. Kumiko hardly weighs a thing and no one is going to take her from me until we reach the museum and she can walk at her own pace. I don't want her tired out before we get there and she seldom gets to spend time with me, leave it alone"

"Did Aki get sick yesterday?" Kumiko asked.

"A little bit," Aki answered, "But I am better now and ready for the great 'Museum Adventure', aren't you?"

"Is it an adventure?" Cro wondered aloud.

"Every experience is an adventure," Aki declared firmly, "especially when in the right company."

"And who would be the right company?" Mouse grumbled under her breath.

"Aki is the right company!" Yuki declared with feeling.

"My brother always said she could make even the most mundane tasks an adventurous undertaking," Alexis grinned.

"You forget, Lexie," Aki knocked her elbow against the redhead's arm. "He hadn't meant it as a compliment at the time."

"Really?" Alexis blinked in embarrassment.

"Aki!" two voices called from the front steps of the museum. A set of teenage twins waved to the group as it climbed the stately steps.

"We were early," one of the identical boys observed somewhat blandly.

"So we decided to wait," the other finished the explanation with a barely perceptible smirk.

"They wouldn't let us in anyway," the first continued.

"And the staff was emptying the facility of other patrons," the second said.

"Well they should let us all in now," Kaoru declared and pointed to where Aki was conversing with a museum employee.

"Is everybody here?" Loki called out over the crowd waiting to be let in. "Now's the time to say something."

"Should we assign groups or something to keep track of everybody?" Alexis pondered out loud.

"It's not a bad idea," Kaoru agreed. "All right people divide yourselves into groups of, what? Six?"

"Older kids with the younger ones. We don't want to lose anybody," Tuck suggested. The crowd of kids milled about until distinct groups were formed. "Everybody in a group? All right, take a good look at each other. If someone goes missing we're counting on you to tell us about it."

Aki approached them, trailing Kumiko and Sesshoumaru, who wouldn't leave her side. "Okay kids, you have your choice of one of three tours. We have a limited amount of time and each tour will cover different parts of the museum. There's Ancient history, middle history and recent history. Recent history covers the last 1400 years. Middle history goes until 1100 years before that, and Ancient history is everything before that."

The middle and recent history tours were the more popular. Only one group of kids chose the ancient history tour and the reason they picked it was because Aki picked it to better keep Sesshoumaru away from anything that might influence him in his future. The chaperones were divided up evenly for the tours despite how uneven the kids were distributed.

The twins went with Aki's group in order to discuss things that had very little to do with ancient history. Aki smirked at them, her customary greeting to them ever since she had proven herself capable of identifying one from the other on their first meeting.

"Rock'n'Roll, Bottom-of-the-Barrel, meet Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru, meet Rock Bottom," Aki made the introductions.

"Because everybody hits rock bottom," one explained with a nod.

"Hits us up for information he means," the other clarified.

"How the hell do you people come up with these names?" demanded a voice that shouldn't be there.

"Alexis," Aki blinked. "I thought you went with Tuck and Kaoru."

"What, the matchmaker that says I'm not _really_ engaged without a ring and your growlie boyfriend's more vocal clone?" the redhead shook her head before muttering. "I should have told her it was an arranged marriage."

"It wouldn't have worked," one twin declared sidling up on one side of her.

"You are an American and arranged marriages are highly uncommon amongst humans these days," the other came up on her other side.

"What do you mean 'human'?" Alexis latched onto the strange phrasing.

"You are human while we are not," Sesshoumaru condescended to explain.

"Then what are you?"

"Youkai," Yuki answered.

"WE are… something different," Bottom curled his finger under her chin and guided her to look up at him.

"Hey no fair!" Rock growled. "You always get to do that cool guiding thing!" He grew serious then and came around his brother to view Alexis over his brother's shoulder. "Most of us do have some human blood."

"What is Youkai?"

"Something better than you-" Aki elbowed the inu youkai in the gut.

"Enough with the holier than thou routine jackass," Aki huffed. "I just happen to have been raised human if you'd care to remember."

"It's hard to define," Loki answered as if Sesshoumaru hadn't said something so pompous. "It's sort of a combination of the Christian demons and angels. Youkai are not inherently evil nor are they inherently good."

"Youkai are just like any other race of people. Only instead of different skin colors, youkai have different abilities, strengths and in some cases weaknesses," Aki said gently. "Youkai are people. Most of them have just lived longer and normally don't intend any harm. You've probably even known a few back home without realizing it."

"Cool," Alexis gasped.

"So what did you want to tell us?" Rock murmured to Aki.

"First tell me what you've learned," she requested.

"We narrowed down who the curse was originally meant for," Bottom began. "Apparently, your elder half-brother ran afoul of some Romany."

"We believe the curse wasn't meant to be as potent nor as lethal as it turned out," Rock continued.

"Most of the good," Bottom paused to search out a word before continuing with a shrug. "Spell casters died out around the time of the inquisitions."

"The only common curses to continue in living knowledge were pretty tame ones," Rock continued. "Curses for gingivitis or wild nose hair growth, things like that."

"We think the curse was supposed to be something like that but was somehow screwed up by accident," Bottom added. "We believe the caster wasn't particularly skilled and very short tempered.

"Your brother probably killed someone's livestock or pet by accident adding potency to his own curse," Rock grinned in ironic humor.

"Aki was given a lethal curse," Sesshoumaru began darkly, "by accident?" The amusement leaked out of Rock's face.

"Thus making it practically impossible to find out exactly how to fix it," Aki murmured gently.

"Oh it gets better," Bottom grumbled sarcastically. "The caster in question committed suicide when she realized what she'd done also adding potency to the curse and the only other witness that could explain things took a vow of silence reinforced by surgery on her vocal chords. She almost didn't survive it."

"Literally a dead end," Rock commented sarcastically.

Sesshoumaru growled at the teenager who ducked and went after the other kids. "Calm down," Aki told him. "I'd suspected this was likely to be the case. It was a long shot that they would find anything at all."

"You don't appear too worried about this," Bottom observed suspiciously.

"That's because someone else is looking into it from the other end," Aki shrugged.

"What?" Loki demanded.

"Just before I came back, I had an encounter with a couple of gods. They healed me of all my injuries since the first time I fell into the well and removed a contract I still have no understanding of," Aki explained blandly. "I was then told that they would be looking to see whose name was invoked in casting the curse. If the power behind the curse is cut off then it becomes benign."

"You met a god?" Bottom blinked.

"I met two," Aki shrugged.

"But you met a god," Loki said loudly to be absolutely certain the sound reached his brain.

"Who met a god?" Larkis demanded.

"Aki met two gods," Bottom repeated.

"Wow! Aki is so cool!" Yuki exclaimed.

"Too cool for you," Kumiko declared.

"What is with you today?" Yuki grumbled.

"Aki is going to be happy again," Kumiko prophesized. "And when this life is over, Kumiko will come back as Aki's daughter."

"What kind of demon is she?" Alexis wondered out loud.

"A phoenix," Rock explained curling Alexis's arm around his own. Ignoring Bottom's frown, he continued, "Phoenix youkai can't have children except with other phoenix which are rare, but the breed never completely dies out because they are perpetually reincarnated almost immediately upon their deaths. They also get to pick how and where they are reincarnated to."

"Only truly special people are chosen to birth a phoenix," Bottom whispered in the redhead's ear as he curled an arm around her shoulders, ignoring Rock's pout. "Usually they choose someone they admire, and the older the phoenix the more difficult it is to be admirable in the eyes of a phoenix."

"All right you two, stop competing over Lexie," Aki scolded the twins. "You're making her uncomfortable and I'd hate to see how Rock decides to one up Bottom's last display.

The twins glanced at each other over Alexis's head and held a very serious and completely audible discussion over the matter before deciding they would simply have to share. Alexis blinked at them completely put off by their strangeness.

"If they bother you," Aki said, "Treat them like your brother."

Alexis blinked before a sadistic grin spread across her face. She used to hack into her brother's computer and reorganize it whenever he pissed her off and she was sure to explain it to the twins when they asked. The twins blanched and took a step away from her before retreating to the safety of the crowd of children when she followed taunting them with their cowardice and bad behavior.

Aki certainly had a knack for meeting the most interesting of people; it was like she was a magnet for them. Or perhaps she was what made them interesting; it was something to ponder…

Sesshoumaru watched after Aki as she moved to catch up with the children, aware that after this they were likely to head back to the other side of the well. Then Aki would go her own way, the way she always did and he would bear it because there was nothing else to do.

Hmm, perhaps he should seek someway to guarantee he would see her every now and then since he really had no reason (nor really the energy to be honest) to chase her about. This would require some thought...


End file.
